We are now more than half way through Lent, the 40-day period of solemnity, abstinence and penitence observed annually by Catholics the world over. Lent this year is more solemn and penitent than usual, due to a lack of abstinence. The American Catholic Church is reeling from wave after wave of disclosures about priests molesting children and cover-ups by bishops and cardinals.
It’s not the first time this particular type of scandal has erupted and, sad to say, it won’t be the last. The pederast priest has become a stock character in the national consciousness, along with the unscrupulous politician and the violence-prone postal worker.
The problem is not that a few bad apples have slipped into the clergy. The solution is not another empty promise about the church policing itself. There’s a larger problem here, one that calls for a larger solution.
The Roman Catholic Church has four characteristics that have led to the current state of affairs – it is monolithic, conservative, obedient and opaque. Until the church addresses these areas, we can expect more tragedy and scandal.
The church is monolithic. There’s one pope, one Vatican and a one-size-fits-all hierarchy. Everyone in that hierarchy, down to the lowest altar server, knows his or her place.
The church is conservative. Conservative in the truest sense of the word, which is “resistant to change.” Of course, the church should stand for some eternal truths, but the Roman church conducts itself as if the clock stopped in the 15th century. That’s why so many people find the church out of touch with their everyday lives. That’s why there’s been a 40-year shortage of priests. What capable, spiritually vivacious man would want to enter the priesthood? Instead of reforming itself to remain vibrant, the church lowered its standards, neglected psychological screening and threw open seminary doors to anyone willing to pay lip service to the party line.
The church is obedient. It goes with the hierarchy. If a bishop sees fit to ignore, transfer and placate pedophiles, everyone else decides it’s not their job to act responsibly. In New Mexico, one perverted priest’s predilections were so well known his fellow priests called him “The Chickenhawk,” but no one did anything about it. When it comes to covering up for a corrupt colleague, the black wall of the priesthood is worse than the blue wall of the police.
The church is opaque. Many bishops have been surprised by the extent of recent revelations. They knew they had a problem in their own diocese, but didn’t know what was happening in the next diocese over. Another factor in the church’s opacity is an extra-strong aversion to bad publicity. The pope claims the ability to speak without error; bishops and priests claim the right to forgive sins on God’s behalf. An institution that believes it holds the power to send immortal souls to paradise or eternal damnation will not gladly suffer criticism from the likes of the Boston Globe.
In response to this huge crisis, the Vatican is threatening to invalidate the ordination of gay priests, even though the overwhelming majority of pederasts are heterosexual. Like I said, 15th century.
Here’s what the church, in America and in Rome, needs to do:
1- Turn over every case of sexual abuse, every suspected case, every alleged
case, to the criminal authorities. Accused people are afforded all the protection they need by the Constitution. We don’t need the church interfering.
2 – Stop persecuting our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters. God made us all loving beings in His image.
3 – End the priest shortage. There are thousands of women and men, married and single, who are far more capable of leading the Catholic Church than Anthony O’Connell of Palm Beach and Bernard Law of Boston. Start ordaining them.
4 – Priests need to open their mouths. None of the above will happen as long as priests continue to bite their tongues and call it obedience. The Catholic Church needs Christian soldiers, not German soldiers.
Ecclesia Culpa
We are now more than half way through Lent, the 40-day period of solemnity, abstinence and penitence observed annually by Catholics the world over. Lent this year is more solemn and penitent than usual, due to a lack of abstinence. The American Catholic Church is reeling from wave after wave of disclosures about priests molesting children and cover-ups by bishops and cardinals.
It’s not the first time this particular type of scandal has erupted and, sad to say, it won’t be the last. The pederast priest has become a stock character in the national consciousness, along with the unscrupulous politician and the violence-prone postal worker.
The problem is not that a few bad apples have slipped into the clergy. The solution is not another empty promise about the church policing itself. There’s a larger problem here, one that calls for a larger solution.
The Roman Catholic Church has four characteristics that have led to the current state of affairs – it is monolithic, conservative, obedient and opaque. Until the church addresses these areas, we can expect more tragedy and scandal.
The church is monolithic. There’s one pope, one Vatican and a one-size-fits-all hierarchy. Everyone in that hierarchy, down to the lowest altar server, knows his or her place.
The church is conservative. Conservative in the truest sense of the word, which is “resistant to change.” Of course, the church should stand for some eternal truths, but the Roman church conducts itself as if the clock stopped in the 15th century. That’s why so many people find the church out of touch with their everyday lives. That’s why there’s been a 40-year shortage of priests. What capable, spiritually vivacious man would want to enter the priesthood? Instead of reforming itself to remain vibrant, the church lowered its standards, neglected psychological screening and threw open seminary doors to anyone willing to pay lip service to the party line.
The church is obedient. It goes with the hierarchy. If a bishop sees fit to ignore, transfer and placate pedophiles, everyone else decides it’s not their job to act responsibly. In New Mexico, one perverted priest’s predilections were so well known his fellow priests called him “The Chickenhawk,” but no one did anything about it. When it comes to covering up for a corrupt colleague, the black wall of the priesthood is worse than the blue wall of the police.
The church is opaque. Many bishops have been surprised by the extent of recent revelations. They knew they had a problem in their own diocese, but didn’t know what was happening in the next diocese over. Another factor in the church’s opacity is an extra-strong aversion to bad publicity. The pope claims the ability to speak without error; bishops and priests claim the right to forgive sins on God’s behalf. An institution that believes it holds the power to send immortal souls to paradise or eternal damnation will not gladly suffer criticism from the likes of the Boston Globe.
In response to this huge crisis, the Vatican is threatening to invalidate the ordination of gay priests, even though the overwhelming majority of pederasts are heterosexual. Like I said, 15th century.
Here’s what the church, in America and in Rome, needs to do:
1- Turn over every case of sexual abuse, every suspected case, every alleged
case, to the criminal authorities. Accused people are afforded all the protection they need by the Constitution. We don’t need the church interfering.
2 – Stop persecuting our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters. God made us all loving beings in His image.
3 – End the priest shortage. There are thousands of women and men, married and single, who are far more capable of leading the Catholic Church than Anthony O’Connell of Palm Beach and Bernard Law of Boston. Start ordaining them.
4 – Priests need to open their mouths. None of the above will happen as long as priests continue to bite their tongues and call it obedience. The Catholic Church needs Christian soldiers, not German soldiers.
(C) Mark Floegel, 2002