Here we go again. Archdiocese being raided by authorities

[beischel]

Nothing worth having in life is easy, but a married diaconate has worked just fine for the Church so far, so why not begin trying married priests? I think the only difference is what a deacon can do versus a priest is presiding over mass and hearing confessions.

Couple that with a lay council running the parish, and I think we could see the number of priests grow as well and the number of Catholics attending mass.

 

[beischel]

What made the scandal into an even worst scandal was the cover-up that ensued after the abuse.

This was a mistake and shouldn’t be repeated.

As for this shortage, the priesthood is no longer seen as a desirable vocation in this increasingly secularized society.

Agree, and that cover-up has caused many Catholics to leave the Church. When it appears to the average Catholic that protecting priests is more important than protecting children, it caused a lot of distrust of the bishops.

It also appears that we let in a flood of homosexual priests that were the root of the problem. This also seemed contrary to the teachings of the Church. There was a priest in Cincinnati who was arrested for homosexual solicitation who is still an active priest though no longer in a parish. A parishioner in a local parish wrote the archbishop a letter providing details of his living with another homosexual. This person provided names and addresses to the archbishop. Nothing was done until the priest was arrested.

A think a lay oversight commission is each parish and at the archdiocese/diocese level would be a good start to restoring faith in Church leadership.