A reader well articulates lay frustration with our bishops

Last updated on: August 1, 2018 at 12:09 am by Mark Shea

A reader well articulates lay frustration with our bishops 2018-07-31T13:40:01-07:00 Mark Shea

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A reader writes:

Do our bishops get it yet? The evidence so far is not encouraging.

A couple of weeks ago a certain bishop brightly wrote on Twitter: “Despite the egregious offenses of a few, and despite the faults and sins we all have, I’m very proud of my brother bishops and I admire and applaud the great work they do every day for Christ and His Church.”

The fallout from this seemingly anodyne comment — similar in tone to comments often made by loyal Catholics and clergy in the past — was ferocious. Christopher Altieri wrote a blistering open letter in Catholic World Report criticizing his tone-deaf tweet.

In the end the bishop was hounded off Twitter. He deleted his account, claiming that Twitter was “an occasion of sin.” I have no idea whether he realizes his mistake.

In Honduras, nearly 50 seminarians have protested against what they say is a widespread and entrenched pattern of homosexual practice in Tegucigalpa’s major seminary. The National Catholic Register reported on the story, noting that a certain cardinal attacked the seminarians who came forward, calling them “gossipers.” The bishops’ conference of Honduras has now denounced the story.

In Africa and elsewhere in the developing world, nuns are coming forward to speak of being sexually abused by priests. In some cases, women candidates for religious life must be sponsored by a priest who demands sexual favors. In other cases, priests target nuns for sexual exploitation because they are seen as “safe” partners in contrast to prostitutes who may be HIV positive. Nuns who get pregnant may be pressured to have an abortion, or they may be dismissed from religious life. Abusive priests may be reassigned or “sent for studies.”

Now here is an archbishop pointing a finger at “the bitter fruits of the sexual revolution.”

Not the bitter fruits of clericalism.

Not the bitter fruits of the culture of silence and secrecy.

Not the bitter fruits of the same kind of entrenched structures of power that have always protected corrupt and abusive leaders in institutions everywhere, from Hollywood to Wall Street to the halls of government.

No, the problem is the legacy of the sex, drugs and rock’n’roll generation. The problem is contraception.

In other institutions, the reverberations of #MeToo are still being felt. Powerful men have been deposed, and a new standard of what sort of behavior powerful men can expect to get away is starting to make inroads.

By its divine institution and mission to perpetuate the redemption of Jesus Christ, the Church should have led all other institutions in protecting the vulnerable from exploitation by the powerful. It should have been a top priority to prevent unscrupulous men from profaning the sacred institution of Holy Orders as an instrument of obscene abuse of human beings for whom Christ died.

That ship has sailed. The Church’s leaders has not led in this area. The question now is whether the Church’s famous slowness and resistance to change will permit the massive cultural correction necessary to respond adequately to this crisis amid changing cultural expectations.

Compared to Hollywood, corporate America and the halls of government, the Church’s leaders are somewhat insulated from direct consequences of changing public opinions. In many ways that can be a good thing, but the consequences could be devastating here. If our leaders can’t do better than the kinds of statements I’ve been talking about, our dioceses won’t be able to sell off the empty parishes and schools quickly enough.

1 Peter 4:17 tells us that judgment begins with the household of God. The gospels likewise direct their warnings about the wrath of God, not to Those Pagans Over There but to the Christian community to which they are written and supremely to the shepherds responsible for the care of that community.

Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?” And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes will find so doing. Truly I tell you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will punish him, and put him with the unfaithful. And that servant who knew his master’s will, but did not make ready or act according to his will, shall receive a severe beating. But he who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, shall receive a light beating. Every one to whom much is given, of him will much be required; and of him to whom men commit much they will demand the more (Lk 12:41–48).

I am hopeful, given the Holy Father’s demonstrated learning curve and the swift action he took with McCarrick (not to mention his obtaining the resignation of the whole Chilean episcopacy) that the much needed enema may finally be coming for the global episcopacy. But I also realize that the task of cultural reform is titanic here–as evidenced by the blindness and stupidity documented above. God grant each of us the grace to work for the reform of the Church and, above all, to stop putting the burden on victims instead of the victimizers. God forgive me for the times I have been more concerned about the institution than about the least of these.

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