Vulnerable to the Holy: in Faith Morality & Art,
by Enda McDonagh, Columba Press, 2004, ISBN
1856074609, pp 218, rrp $29.95.

Reviewed by Alan Dwight

This book reveals much of the life and thoughts
of a man reflecting back over many years of active
involvement in the Church. One of his great
emphases is that the Church consists of all baptised members.
Enda McDonagh describes his public identity
as “Irish and Catholic, academic and priest”, but
makes it clear that this “influences but does not
determine his full personal identity”. He is Professor Emeritus of Moral Theology at St Patrick’s College at Maynooth, near Dublin.
The book is a series of exploratory probes into
areas in which he has been engaged intellectually,
emotionally and practically since his retirement.
He writes as an Irishman and we can profit
by illustrations from Irish poetry, painting and
sculpture. Many readers will cope with his
untranslated Greek and Latin but may fail to
understand his occasional Erse - Irish Gaelic. Much of his criticism is applicable outside Ireland.
His church in Ireland today is shown in its
“strange richness and poverty”, but there appears
more emphasis on the latter. Clearly like others,
notably Hans Kung in his recent autobiography,
he sees the great promise of Vatican II smudged
by leaders such as Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope
Benedict).
He praises Vatican II’s Decree on Ecumenism
which permitted members to enter and pray in
other Christians’ churches, and dislikes the word
“conversion” as applied to the movement from
one Christian denomination to his own. “One
baptism”, he thinks, makes “conditional baptism”
erroneous as well as offensive.
Bishops are criticised for failure to accept advice
from priests and other baptised members, even
when any have expertise on serious problems as on sex abuse, abortion and contraception. He thinks bishops “need to come much closer to the victims of church structures and bureaucracy if they are to learn the depth of their suffering”.

As far as HIV/AIDS in Africa is concerned, he
sees “the older wisdom of theology” in choosing
the lesser evil – the use of condoms to reduce the
risk of infection.
He sympathises with the “pain” experienced by
women in the Church, leading some to leave the
Church they love and rely on. Reasons include
their exclusion from decision-making as well as
“the masculine resonance” which emphasises God
as Father. McDonagh points out God is “beyond
gender and human specifics”, and the Bible also
expresses the tender love of a Mother-God.
He commends the poetry of Jesuit poet G M
Hopkins, praising the Creator-God and arguing
for our stewardship – useful as the Church is
increasingly becoming overtly “green”. He also
recommends Hopkins for devotional reading.
At seventy years of age McDonagh argues that
the Church must not stifle the fresh energy and
fresh ideas of youth. He urges older people to
look forward to death as rising with Christ, “the
fulfilment of the baptismal process”.