Rowan Williams's comments on Vatican handling of sex abuse scandal likely to further cloud pope's upcoming UK trip

This article is more than 10 years old

This article is more than 10 years old

Church leaders in Ireland have condemned the archbishop of Canterbury after he said the country's Catholic church has lost "all credibility" because of its poor handling of the scandal of paedophile priests.

Dr Rowan Williams said the child sex abuse scandal that has engulfed the Catholic church had been a "colossal trauma" for Ireland in particular.

But a Catholic archbishop and senior Anglican clergy in Ireland rebuked Williams over his comments, contending they were unhelpful and discouraging.

In an interview to be broadcast on Monday, Williams said: "I was speaking to an Irish friend recently who was saying that it's quite difficult in some parts of Ireland to go down the street wearing a clerical collar now.

"And an institution so deeply bound into the life of a society suddenly losing all credibility – that's not just a problem for the church, it is a problem for everybody in Ireland."

Williams's remarks were condemned by one of the most senior Catholics in Ireland, the archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin. "Those working for renewal in the Catholic church in Ireland did not need this comment on this Easter weekend and do not deserve it," he said.

The comments are also likely to fuel the controversy surrounding the pope's visit to Britain in September, when he is expected to talk about moral standards and renew his attack on Britain's equality laws.

A protest the pope petition posted by gay-rights campaigner Peter Tatchell on the Downing Street website, objecting to the £15m cost of the visit which will be shared by the government and the Catholic church, has already attracted more than 10,000 signatories.

In his interview for BBC Radio 4's Start the Week, to be broadcast on Monday, Williams sounded less than enthused about the pope's visit.

"The pope will be coming here to Lambeth Palace. We'll have the bishops together to meet him. I'm concerned that he has the chance to say what he wants to say in and to British society, that we welcome him as a valued partner and, you know, that's about it."

He also predicted that few Anglicans would take up the pope's offer of conversion to Catholicism.

A spokesman for the Catholic church in Ireland described Williams's remarks as "strong words", and added: "No one denies that the church has both failed and has been damaged."

But Martin, who has called for full accountability in the church over child abuse, rebuked Williams, arguing his comments would discourage those working to address the damage caused by the paedophile scandal.

"The unequivocal and unqualified comment in a radio interview of the archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, that the Catholic church in Ireland has 'lost all credibility' has stunned me," Martin said.

The comments would be "immensely disheartening" for those Catholics dealing with the child abuse problems and would "challenge their faith even further", he said.

"I have to say that in all my years as archbishop of Dublin in difficult times I have rarely felt personally so discouraged as when I woke to hear archbishop Williams' comments," he added.

The Anglican archbishop of Dublin, Dr John Neill, expressed his support for Martin, describing Williams's comments as regrettable.

He said: "I extend to archbishop Diarmuid Martin my support as he works for the proclamation of the gospel and the healing of hurt, including that of the faithful and their clergy whose ministry has been undermined by those guilty of the abuse of children."

The Anglican bishop of Meath and Kildare, Richard Clarke, branded Williams's remarks as hurtful and reckless.

"Whereas it is clearly true that the Roman Catholic church in this country is facing deep and serious challenges to its authority as a consequence of clerical abuse scandals, this careless and reckless use of language by archbishop Williams is extremely unfortunate.

"It is deeply hurtful to Roman Catholic clergy and laity alike, and indeed to those of other Christian traditions, that such a thoughtless remark should be made by Archbishop Williams," he added. "I hope that he will reflect on his comments, and I deeply regret the hurt that he has caused."

The reputation of the Catholic church in Ireland has been severely damaged by revelations that its leaders covered up widespread child sexual abuse by dozens of paedophile priests.

Its leader, the primate of All-Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady, came under pressure to stand down after he admitted being at a meeting where children abused by the convicted paedophile Father Brendan Smyth were forced to take a vow of silence.

The scandal has also damaged the pope, who has faced accusations that he failed to properly investigate a serial abuser in a children's home for the deaf in Wisconsin, US, in the late 1990s.

Yesterday, the Vatican provoked further controversy after the pope's personal preacher, Father Raniero Cantalamessa, compared criticism of the Catholic hierarchy over cleric sex abuse with persecution of Jews.

His comments drew condemnation from child abuse victims' groups and Jewish representatives.