Some People are Gloating

Last updated on: December 30, 2014 at 11:01 am by Mark Shea

Some People are Gloating 2014-12-30T11:01:49-07:00 Mark Shea

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

…because the BBC, which absolutely *loved* the Scandal in the Catholic Church is now confronting its own massive institutional failure in preventing a Beloved Personality from being a predator.

I think that the main thing to do here is to keep the focus on two things: 1) the victims and their need for help and 2) the emerging sociological question of how the same results keep happening across a broad spectrum of human institutions, secular and religious. In other words, it’s becoming apparent that there wasn’t something peculiarly Catholic about the Church’s response, but rather there was something depressingly human about it. The problem is not that the Church was more evil that other institutions in its cowardice, coverups and failure to address the problem. The problem is that the Church was average.

Seen sociologically, that’s to be expected, I suppose. The average Catholic is average, and the Church is, among other things, full of average people–including among its clergy. So it’s to be expected that you get an average institutional response to the presence of a grave threat to institutional integrity.

And yet, how depressing to be reminded that we are indeed jars of clay. Saints remain a rare thing in the Church, and the mystery is, “Why?” I don’t have an answer for that. But I am assured by revelation that it does not *have* to be so. The net catches bad fish as well as good, to be sure. But we have it available to us to be extraordinary by the grace of God.

One good thing that has come out of this–perhaps a providential thing–is that the Church, by being the first institution to really be confronted in a massive and global way with this phenomenon, has been forced by Providence to pioneer institutional responses that actually seem to be effective. No, it’s not all perfect yet. But it’s a lot better. So perhaps one of the ironies of this tragedy is that other institutions–the Beeb among them–will come to learn from the Church’s experience and profit from it. It would be humbling work of grace for all involved, not least the Church herself, to truly be in the position Paul says we are always in, of not being able to boast. If such humility comes of this terrible trial, it will be a redemptive fruit our arrogant culture could certainly stand to display.

Uncategorized

The Scandal

Previous Post

November 8, 2012

Five Sources to Detox from...

Next Post

November 8, 2012 Four Pieces of Correspondence

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 September 2006 June 2006 July 2005 April 2005 May 2002 April 2002 0000

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz