Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Meanwhile, at the Vatican

It looks like a long-overdue meeting is about to take place:

Around 8.30pm Rome time this Tuesday, the Holy See Press Office released the following statement to the accredited outlets: 
This Thursday, 13 September 2018, the Holy Father will receive in the apostolic palace His Eminence Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston, president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of the United States of America, together with His Eminence Cardinal Seán Patrick O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

With them will be H.E. Mons. José Horacio Gómez, Archbishop of Los Angeles, vice president of the same episcopal conference; and Monsignor Brian Bransfield, Secretary General [sic].

The audience will take place at noon.
Cardinals DiNardo and O'Malley are going to the Vatican because it's clear Pope Francis either (a) doesn't understand what's going on in the Church in the United States in re the ongoing abuse scandal; or (b) doesn't care; or (c) is part of the continuing coverup.

Also of note -- it sounds like Cardinal Wuerl, the guy who replaced the disgraced Cardinal McCarrick in Washington, D.C., is out, too:
Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the embattled archbishop of Washington, said Tuesday that he expects to meet soon with Pope Francis to discuss the possibility of resigning.

In a letter to priests in the diocese, Wuerl mentioned a recent meeting with the Pope in Vatican City. He said the Pope asked him to consider the best course of action "as we face new revelations of the extent of the horror of the clergy abuse of children and the failures in episcopal oversight." 
Wuerl said he will meet with Francis about the resignation he presented nearly three years ago at age 75, the mandatory age for Catholic bishops to submit their retirement to the Pope. He said a decision about his future "is an essential aspect so that this archdiocesan church we all love can move forward."
It's quite likely Wuerl knew about the crimes of his predecessor and was, at best, asleep at the switch when he was at the archdiocese of Pittsburgh.

Every diocese in the United States, if it hasn't done so already, should release its files on clergy abuse. The only way to move forward is to stop hiding. The Church will not survive unless it comes to grips with the evil in its midst.

17 comments:

jerrye92002 said...

The Church has a problem finding clergy as it is. If all the sex perverts (sorry, simple term) are kicked out, who will tend to business?

Bike Bubba said...

Not just Rome, sadly. Not just Rome.

One of the biggest obstacles I see towards repentance here is that institutions seem to uniformly see their accusers as "out for blood." They therefore close ranks to try to hide or obscure evidence and give massive financial settlements (lots of blood) when the accusers really mostly wanted an apology and a chance in course.

I could be wrong about this, but having read the Twitter feeds of folks like the Denhollanders for a while, I just can't shake this thought.

jerrye92002 said...

Seems to me-- from a totally outside-looking-in perspective- It isn't the crime but the cover-up that's the problem. If the first time a pedophile priest strayed they had a house-cleaing, top to bottom, this would be a non-story today, and wouldn't exist as a problem. The aforementioned priest shortage, I believe, drove the "drop in quality of applicants" and the undesirable side effects got ignored.

Mr. D said...

One of the biggest obstacles I see towards repentance here is that institutions seem to uniformly see their accusers as "out for blood." They therefore close ranks to try to hide or obscure evidence and give massive financial settlements (lots of blood) when the accusers really mostly wanted an apology and a chance in course.

It’s both, I suspect. The actual victims did want an apology and a change in course. You’re correct about that. But it won’t do to pretend that the Church doesn’t have a lot of enemies who hate it for reasons completely unrelated to the scandal. And because Francis and his predecessors (going back about 5-6 Popes, at least) didn’t address the problem, they’ve given these enemies some convenient truncheons to swing. I will believe to my dying day that, to use just one example, Jeff Anderson is a vicious bastard, but the Church made it easy for him to pose as something otherwise.

Seems to me-- from a totally outside-looking-in perspective- It isn't the crime but the cover-up that's the problem. If the first time a pedophile priest strayed they had a house-cleaing, top to bottom, this would be a non-story today, and wouldn't exist as a problem.

Yes. Of course. But the default position of any bureaucratic organization is to close ranks and protect itself first. People protect their rice bowls before they protect their mission.

Bike Bubba said...

Mark; I was referring mostly to "money" as blood, but point well taken. The key response to what you've noted is that those who are out to destroy the institution can only be pushed back in this case by doing what's right--not by circling the wagons.

And I can't speak to Anderson, but it also strikes me that a great way to make an ordinary complainant into a vicious bastard is to circle the wagons. Some people certainly arrive at that point without help, but some are provoked.

3john2 said...

This is a plague anywhere where there is spiritual authority, and those that love themselves and their authority more than the mission they've been entrusted with. It is in our human condition to struggle with it, and it is in our human condition to defer to those in authority, which makes the failure in those in authority more heinous. God gave us the method for dealing with this, but it is usually chucked out the window at the first sign of trouble, rather than being the first step to healing - or to removing a blight.

Beginning in Matthew 18:14 we are instructed to go to our brother who has harmed us. Of course this is difficult if that brother is in a position of authority. It does let that person know that his sin is noticed and known by at least one. The escalation of the discipline is described in the following verses. Is the power gap too great between a youth and a priest, or a pastor? It is - but repentance and restoration is still possible. (I would have to pray very hard, as a parent, however if I found a pastor to have been involved in something like this and not go directly to step three for the sake of the congregation.)

When abuse became known to those in similar authority, however, there is no excuse for them not to follow this. And perhaps that happened, but when the abuser was confronted and did not repent and change, those in ministry with him, and in authority over him, did not follow through because "it would look bad" - showing that the devotion was to serving self and not the flock or God. Truly, that attitude is as bad or worse than having pagan or tax collector in authority. Ah, but if this had happened early and consistently, where would church (Body of Christ, not a single denomination) be now? For that matter, where would the public school system be if it adhered to the same standard?

In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish. “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

Bike Bubba said...

Regarding Matthew 18, my view is that the one on one meeting occurred when the sin was committed, and it is definitely an unequal confrontation. Given the tendency of groups (not.just.Rome.) to circle the wagons, you need to understand the power differential (the priest administers the sacraments, after all) and grant the accuser representation.

And in the case that the elders do not listen to credible evidence....well, there's a place where I'm glad I'm a Protestant and can simply say "you do not represent Christ to me."

jerrye92002 said...

What I am hearing is a little scary, that the opponents of the Catholic Church may actually succeed in bringing it down due to its very power structure. That is, because the Church inserts themselves between God and the rest of us, we expect them to be "better" than mere men. When they shatter that perception and assertion, they are "out of business," are they not?

Mr. D said...

I don’t think so, Jerry. What I sense is the laity has had about enough of all this, and they will be able to force the issue to be addressed. The churchmen will go away, but the Church will not. The Word of God hasn’t been diminished in any way.

3john2 said...

The Word of God in undiminished. The trappings of man strapped onto it, however, are going to get quite a shaking. The essence of Christian leadership is in serving, not being served. Anyone who's title needs to include the term "His Eminence" is well off the mark. Same goes for spiritual leaders that needs mansions to show how much God loves them. Every thing that can be shaken, will be shaken, leaving only what can't be shaken. It's always good to examine what it is you're holding onto before that happens.

jerrye92002 said...

I'm not convinced the problem can be corrected without catastrophe. First of all, the laity, at least here in the US, I do not sense is that committed to the Church. Just me, but one of my close friends has become an evangelical and written a book called "Fully Recovered Catholic." Those whose faith is shaken by this vast crime and coverup may find it easier to go elsewhere for their religious expression.

Second, if the proper response here is to purge the Church of all of these (again, excuse the shorthand) sexual perverts, or those who shielded them, then the Church may find itself with a personnel shortage even larger than what it already has and be unable to function. And these "homeless" Catholics will be unlikely to come "home" again, even if a new priest becomes available.

jerrye92002 said...

Reminds me of visiting the "Bishop's House" in Wurzberg, Germany. It rivals (and I believe is modeled after) the Palace of Versailles for ostentatious extravagance.

Mr. D said...

I'm not convinced the problem can be corrected without catastrophe. First of all, the laity, at least here in the US, I do not sense is that committed to the Church. Just me, but one of my close friends has become an evangelical and written a book called "Fully Recovered Catholic." Those whose faith is shaken by this vast crime and coverup may find it easier to go elsewhere for their religious expression.

Trust me -- there are a lot of faithful Catholics who will stay. John 6:68 says, "Lord, to whom shall we go?" Some will leave. Many have. The evangelicals have their own issues, too.

Second, if the proper response here is to purge the Church of all of these (again, excuse the shorthand) sexual perverts, or those who shielded them, then the Church may find itself with a personnel shortage even larger than what it already has and be unable to function. And these "homeless" Catholics will be unlikely to come "home" again, even if a new priest becomes available.

For 2000 years, the Church sent missionaries around the world. There are more priests than you know. It's possible the United States will be missionary territory for a time, but I'm willing to take the long view.

Mr. D said...

The Word of God in undiminished. The trappings of man strapped onto it, however, are going to get quite a shaking. The essence of Christian leadership is in serving, not being served. Anyone who's title needs to include the term "His Eminence" is well off the mark. Same goes for spiritual leaders that needs mansions to show how much God loves them. Every thing that can be shaken, will be shaken, leaving only what can't be shaken. It's always good to examine what it is you're holding onto before that happens.

Amen.

jerrye92002 said...

Thank you. I visited a small Catholic church in Fort Smith, Alberta some time back and found no American or Canadian priests. Just an East Indian and, I think, a Mexican. I also see that the total number of "erring" priests is something like 300, a scant few of which are higher-up in the church. It is big enough to survive that, IF they take swift and effective action. We can pray they do.

Now if we could just get the Pope to climb down off his belief in Manmade Climate Change...

Bike Bubba said...

I've made a couple of posts like this on my own site, but if Rome wants to really make an impact here, they need to not only open their files, but also have an independent party read them and compile dossiers so that guilty parties can be fired. The reason for this is because (a) statutes of limitations have expired and many guilty parties are now long dead and (b) the police have been caught in a lot of places with hundreds of untested rape kits.

This is, more or less, what New Tribes and ABWE, "fundagelical" mission agencies, did to restore credibility with their supporters after disasters in a boarding school and a mission hospital. You can't just say "here it is, have a look." You've got to dig in the filth and expose it.

jerrye92002 said...

Ick.