The Pope’s historic four-day visit to Britain came to an end last Sunday. Against all expectations, it was a success as he attracted large and eager crowds wherever he went. The size and enthusiasm of the throngs gathered to acclaim him and hear his words in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and finally Birmingham appeared to astonish everyone; even the Pope’s many detractors who had eagerly looked forward to a PR disaster for the Church as it stumbled from one debacle to another were surprised.

The sex abuse scandals by Catholic priests in many countries, including the Church’s very heartlands, have had devastating effects. The Church’s former unique moral standing worldwide has been shaken to its very foundations and to such an extent that it will take many years before it can reclaim it again. To do so it needs to reform itself root and branch.

For the immediate future there are a number of questions that need to be asked and answered. The most pressing are: Will vocations continue to shrink? Will Church membership keep on declining? Will the expected fall in Church revenue as a result of a substantial drop in Mass attendances, widespread disenchantment with the Church and general disinterest in its activities bring about an unparalleled organisational and institutional crisis which will further impede the Church from effectively carrying out its worldwide mission with consequent negative results on its many religious, educational and social interests?

The Pope’s successful visit to the UK, however, raises hopes that these dire forebodings will not, in the long run, materialise. People, especially the young, are still trusting in religion and eagerly looking at the Church as a significant leader in their lives. These sentiments were also evident and witnessed by us during the Pope’s visit to Malta last April. Hope is still there, but radical reform is the only path to a vital and vibrant Church.

The questions asked earlier in this article cannot be shirked by those in the Church hierarchy who are in a position to restore the Church’s reputation. They are questions that need to be confronted with openness and without prejudice. Much of the damage caused has been the result of the Church’s own secretive attitude. The approach was that these were problems that concerned the Church only. The Murphy Report on the scandals in Ireland accused the police of adopting a culture of deference towards the Church by allowing crimes committed by the clergy to be treated as an internal ecclesiastical matter. The protection of the good name of the Church was given precedence over helping the abused child. As a result, the perpetrators of the crimes felt safe enough to continue with their vile activities to the detriment of victims and, finally, the Church itself. It is not the only reason why Catholicism imploded in recent times, but it can be attributed as one of the main reasons. Endless cover-ups brought about a vicious circle of moral degradation in the very heart of the Church.

One other relevant question that needs to be confronted is why the Church has attracted such a large number of paedophiles to its ranks? Paedophilia has been subjected to intensive study by specialists. At first, psychotherapists were of the view that paedophilia was treatable. Now they are more circumspect in their observations and would not give a straightforward opinion – each case is complicated and needs to be treated on its own.

Some have also claimed that clerical celibacy and the Church’s many activities relating to child education and welfare created the right environment (and attraction) for people with deviated sexual inclinations towards children. However, there is no data to prove that celibate priests are more prone to abuse children, or that married men are less likely to resort to paedophilia.

The Church has been accused of being reactionary, of closing its doors to progress, among other things by not allowing priests to marry. But the Church might well be in a worse situation if it had simply adapted itself to the more liberal values of the prevailing times. That’s what the Anglican community, especially in Canada and the US, has done in recent decades but this has brought about unprecedented problems to that Church with deep internal divisions, dwindling attendances and mass defections.

The renewal of the Catholic Church should not be a hurried affair. It needs to be planned calmly and with determination, as otherwise it will rebound disastrously if it is handled badly. Without doubt, however, there is also a sense of urgency. It is a matter that cannot be protracted any longer given the seriousness and widespread violation that has taken place. A balance needs to be established between these two exigencies. What it requires are calm specialist minds working with insistence and resolve to get results within reasonable timeframes. The healing power of Christ – even in the darkest and bleakest of situations – will then do the rest.