There have been several references in threads below about the address by Archbishop Martin of Dublin. It is receiving acclaim from across the spectrum of Catholic opinion, and is worth a separate post.Each will find in it something particularly cogent; but as a whole, it is powerful indeed.Here is the conclusion:

The Catholic Church in Ireland, as I said, will have to find its place in a very different, much more secularised culture, at times even in a hostile culture.It will have to find that place by being authentic and faithful to the person and the message of Jesus Christ. The agenda for change in the Church must be one that comes from its message and not from pressure from outside and from people who do not have the true good of the Church at heart.We all have reasons to be discouraged and to be angry.There is a sense, however, in which true reform of the Church will spring only from those who love the Church, with a love like that of Jesus which is prepared also to suffer for the Church and to give oneself for the Church.Thank God there are many who love their Church: lay persons, religious and clergy.We love the Church because the Church is our home, the place where we encounter the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ and where we gather in love to break bread in his memory.