The correct decision
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He committed a serious error by making the move in the first place. By withdrawing the application, he has rectified his mistake. He must have had to summon up great courage. He must also have reflected on the likely harm to the Catholic Church caused by the appearance of yet another attempted cover-up of these appalling events.
Cover-ups have occurred, on a vast scale, in several countries. But the effects were probably more terrible in Ireland than anywhere else, by reason of the shocking extent of the crimes and the deplorable behaviour of a secretive Church towards the victims and the people at large.
Dr Connell should not have been the man to hold the See of Dublin at a time of such controversy -- accompanied by turbulent changes in society and a weakening of all authority.
By temperament and background, he is an academic, not a pastor. Early in his tenure as archbishop, he confessed that he was a stranger to parish work. The remark, meant humorously, should have had a kinder reception.
His successor, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, is a man more in tune with the times. But it will take much soul-searching for the Church to embrace fully the new openness.
