JD’s recent article, like so many others, underscores the deep systemic issues plaguing the Catholic Church, particularly its ongoing failure to implement and adhere to the transparent, accountable governance processes promised during Pope Francis’s reform efforts. While The Pillar does a courageous job exposing these failures and consis…
JD’s recent article, like so many others, underscores the deep systemic issues plaguing the Catholic Church, particularly its ongoing failure to implement and adhere to the transparent, accountable governance processes promised during Pope Francis’s reform efforts. While The Pillar does a courageous job exposing these failures and consistently pounding the drum on their seriousness, no Catholic journalist seems willing to take the next step: articulating the foreseeable consequences in stark, unavoidable terms.
The Catholic Church claims to be the one true apostolic Church, uniquely guided by the Holy Spirit. Yet, it consistently undermines the rule of law and proves incapable of upholding its own moral and doctrinal teachings. What is the consequence of that? It renders the Church’s central claim—that it is divinely inspired and guided—untenable in the eyes of the faithful.
The deeply ingrained culture of clericalism—one that cannot be expunged even to protect the Church’s most vulnerable members—further compounds this crisis. What is the result? The faithful will increasingly withdraw their support, both spiritually and financially. The mounting billion-dollar civil judgments for abuse cases and the lack of credibility to attract new donors or believers will leave the Church financially crippled, unable to fulfill its mission.
If the Church is seen as corrupt at its core, it becomes increasingly difficult to reconcile this reality with the belief that it is divinely inspired. A just and omnipotent God does not promote or permit false prophets or corrupt leaders to represent His will. This fundamental contradiction, then, will lead many to question not just the institution but the very foundation of its divine mission. The Church will no longer be considered divinely guided, for how could God allow such corruption at the heart of His most sacred institution?
I can voice my opposition (and have) and do what I can financially (not a dime to anything I know goes back to Rome) but saying "I'm Catholic" is an affirmation and one that it's growing hard to be proud of when the Pope is clearly at best turning a blind eye to what his Bishops are doing.
Sue, I’m late to this piece so bear with me. Speaking out is like shouting into a void. The corruption of the institution is vast; even an individual bishop, if he even wanted to, couldn’t cause a ripple. After working for the church for 11 years and toward the later years seeing a corrupt and destructive bishop up close, I can say the institution, like all of them, exists to protect its prerogatives. And after their war on women’s health care, the final (but not only) straw, I departed. My faith in Jesus Christ is abundant, but I cannot abide this corrupt institution.
I wonder if it is getting worse, or are we just seeing more of what’s been there for a long time? I think some things might need to get even worse than they already are (as horrific as that sounds) before hitting rock bottom and getting better. There needs to be a reckoning, and I do think it’s starting to happen in some parts of the world, thanks in part to reporting by The Pillar.
I think there's a bit of a generational effect. US seminaries (and probably others worldwide) were absolutely awful for many decades. Some of them seemed to be places I wouldn't send my enemies. The men vetted and formed by that are the current crop of bishops, since the last generation has died. Society's general distaste for priests has done a lot to clear out some of the guys who don't really believe. There's also been a big effort at getting the seminaries better, but they're still not phenomenal, and the current crop of bishops can probably still pick rotten ones for promotion. Based on that, I think we're getting into the turning of the tide, but it'll be a while yet before it's out, and the scandals have, by virtue of the generational shift, taken over many more of the higher positions. That serves to make them both more powerful, and more public when/if they are caught.
I do not think this means we can just chill and wait it out. I think the efforts to bring things into the light, and to see abusers and the complicit removed, is essential, and that it's still going to take a lot of time before things look like any of those efforts have been successful.
This began as a societal problem, but the statistics you are citing are only based on convictions. We are only at the tip of the iceberg as far as actual convictions of clerical abusers. (As evidenced by the wave of recent diocesan bankruptcy declarations.) It is well-known that many, if not most, American seminaries have been preferring sexually deviant men for decades. (Several earned the nick-name “Pink Palace” because this preference for homosexual candidates was so obvious.) This cancer will take decades to heal, and cannot happen without a rebirth of holiness among families supplying the men for the priesthood, and an overhaul of the American seminary system. Although the first step, is to keep our peerless Pillar reporters shining the light of truth on stories like the Principi case.
I agree the statistics are the tip of the iceberg. But they are also the tip of the iceberg for all the other demographics. Schools (aided by the secular news) have been covering up this stuff for at least as long as the Church has, and one of the few doctors who made the news for this, made it in part because the FBI was involved in the coverup. I am making an assumption that all the statistics are underestimating the problem by about the same amount.
> The Church will no longer be considered divinely guided, for how could God allow such corruption at the heart of His most sacred institution?
Anyone wondering this *does* need to embark on the Flynn Scripture Challenge because to allow corruption is literally God's modus operandi at least half the time. Let me sing you a song about my vineyard; I went on a sabbatical and at harvest time sent messengers to ask the tenants for the produce, but instead they beat the stuffin' out of my servants, and finally I sent my son *knowing full well that they would kill him* (given that his son says repeatedly to his son's closest friends "the Son of Man must be handed over &c."). God is (by the standards of the world) either insane or an idiot, and we *have* to internalize this basic fact because when (if) we are taken up into the internal life of the Trinity it is as members of the *Son* and so we should take a good hard look at how upside-down his life is from what we would consider success.
JD’s recent article, like so many others, underscores the deep systemic issues plaguing the Catholic Church, particularly its ongoing failure to implement and adhere to the transparent, accountable governance processes promised during Pope Francis’s reform efforts. While The Pillar does a courageous job exposing these failures and consistently pounding the drum on their seriousness, no Catholic journalist seems willing to take the next step: articulating the foreseeable consequences in stark, unavoidable terms.
The Catholic Church claims to be the one true apostolic Church, uniquely guided by the Holy Spirit. Yet, it consistently undermines the rule of law and proves incapable of upholding its own moral and doctrinal teachings. What is the consequence of that? It renders the Church’s central claim—that it is divinely inspired and guided—untenable in the eyes of the faithful.
The deeply ingrained culture of clericalism—one that cannot be expunged even to protect the Church’s most vulnerable members—further compounds this crisis. What is the result? The faithful will increasingly withdraw their support, both spiritually and financially. The mounting billion-dollar civil judgments for abuse cases and the lack of credibility to attract new donors or believers will leave the Church financially crippled, unable to fulfill its mission.
If the Church is seen as corrupt at its core, it becomes increasingly difficult to reconcile this reality with the belief that it is divinely inspired. A just and omnipotent God does not promote or permit false prophets or corrupt leaders to represent His will. This fundamental contradiction, then, will lead many to question not just the institution but the very foundation of its divine mission. The Church will no longer be considered divinely guided, for how could God allow such corruption at the heart of His most sacred institution?
This is what I am personally struggling with and it's growing harder by the day. How can I associate without it being implied I'm okay with this?
Speak out against what's going on while remaining in the Church.
I can voice my opposition (and have) and do what I can financially (not a dime to anything I know goes back to Rome) but saying "I'm Catholic" is an affirmation and one that it's growing hard to be proud of when the Pope is clearly at best turning a blind eye to what his Bishops are doing.
Move to a diocese with an outstanding bishop.
My Bishop is unpopular with all the right Cardinals so I'm good there. fortunately.
Sue, I’m late to this piece so bear with me. Speaking out is like shouting into a void. The corruption of the institution is vast; even an individual bishop, if he even wanted to, couldn’t cause a ripple. After working for the church for 11 years and toward the later years seeing a corrupt and destructive bishop up close, I can say the institution, like all of them, exists to protect its prerogatives. And after their war on women’s health care, the final (but not only) straw, I departed. My faith in Jesus Christ is abundant, but I cannot abide this corrupt institution.
The most common perpetrator of child sexual abuse is the mother's cohabitating boyfriend.
Doctors have about twice the rate of predators as Catholic priests. School teachers aren't as bad as doctors, but still worse than priests.
This is a societal problem.
But what Sue said is right. If you want to avoid the implication that you're ok with it, then speak and act like you are not ok with it.
As I mentioned above I can do that and have but the rot is so high up and isn't getting better. it's getting worse.
I wonder if it is getting worse, or are we just seeing more of what’s been there for a long time? I think some things might need to get even worse than they already are (as horrific as that sounds) before hitting rock bottom and getting better. There needs to be a reckoning, and I do think it’s starting to happen in some parts of the world, thanks in part to reporting by The Pillar.
I think there's a bit of a generational effect. US seminaries (and probably others worldwide) were absolutely awful for many decades. Some of them seemed to be places I wouldn't send my enemies. The men vetted and formed by that are the current crop of bishops, since the last generation has died. Society's general distaste for priests has done a lot to clear out some of the guys who don't really believe. There's also been a big effort at getting the seminaries better, but they're still not phenomenal, and the current crop of bishops can probably still pick rotten ones for promotion. Based on that, I think we're getting into the turning of the tide, but it'll be a while yet before it's out, and the scandals have, by virtue of the generational shift, taken over many more of the higher positions. That serves to make them both more powerful, and more public when/if they are caught.
I do not think this means we can just chill and wait it out. I think the efforts to bring things into the light, and to see abusers and the complicit removed, is essential, and that it's still going to take a lot of time before things look like any of those efforts have been successful.
This began as a societal problem, but the statistics you are citing are only based on convictions. We are only at the tip of the iceberg as far as actual convictions of clerical abusers. (As evidenced by the wave of recent diocesan bankruptcy declarations.) It is well-known that many, if not most, American seminaries have been preferring sexually deviant men for decades. (Several earned the nick-name “Pink Palace” because this preference for homosexual candidates was so obvious.) This cancer will take decades to heal, and cannot happen without a rebirth of holiness among families supplying the men for the priesthood, and an overhaul of the American seminary system. Although the first step, is to keep our peerless Pillar reporters shining the light of truth on stories like the Principi case.
I agree the statistics are the tip of the iceberg. But they are also the tip of the iceberg for all the other demographics. Schools (aided by the secular news) have been covering up this stuff for at least as long as the Church has, and one of the few doctors who made the news for this, made it in part because the FBI was involved in the coverup. I am making an assumption that all the statistics are underestimating the problem by about the same amount.
> The Church will no longer be considered divinely guided, for how could God allow such corruption at the heart of His most sacred institution?
Anyone wondering this *does* need to embark on the Flynn Scripture Challenge because to allow corruption is literally God's modus operandi at least half the time. Let me sing you a song about my vineyard; I went on a sabbatical and at harvest time sent messengers to ask the tenants for the produce, but instead they beat the stuffin' out of my servants, and finally I sent my son *knowing full well that they would kill him* (given that his son says repeatedly to his son's closest friends "the Son of Man must be handed over &c."). God is (by the standards of the world) either insane or an idiot, and we *have* to internalize this basic fact because when (if) we are taken up into the internal life of the Trinity it is as members of the *Son* and so we should take a good hard look at how upside-down his life is from what we would consider success.