In reference to the scandal (should we be doing something?)

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fide said:
Did you read the 11-page letter? Read it. He tried too do something, and ran into bureaucratic slow-walking, inaction and resistance. Finally he put the good of his own soul first, and made it all public.
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I don’t think we have information enough to know to what degree he was part of the problem. His own testimony would likely not indicate his own faults.
 
AlNg said:
I don’t see how it is right to stay calm when children are being molested and raped and then this is covered up. These are children being attacked.
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Again, I think we want to be careful about tense here. There is not a large problem of child abuse in the Church NOW, though there was in the past. There does continue to be a huge problem with coverups and lack of transparency.
 
That’s not a true fast. That’s like fasting from being nice to people.
 
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Sorry, I didn’t realize this was a grammar forum, but I stand my ground and mean what I posted.
 
I wasn’t meaning to make a grammatical point, really. I was saying that, when we start doing the right thing, we are no longer doing the wrong thing. So we “were”, but we “are not”.
 
What has happened to those accused? Where are they? Separated, jailed, in seclusion, practicing?
 
Pray and fast for priests bishops and the Holy Father. That’s what we should be doing.
 
Excellent post!

Yes, our holy priests need our support.

And the laity need to pray much and become holier. And families need to pray together.

Our Eucharistic adoration times need to be filled with adorers…even if some can only stay fifteen minutes!

This is an awesome quote from Cardinal Francis Arinze:

“St. Francis of Assisi,although his life was highly prophetic at a time when there was corruption among some clerics, did not attack bishops and the pope. He aimed at reforming himself. In this way, he and his companions contributed to the reform of the Church.”
 
Yes!! I can’t change the Pope, I can’t change Cardinals, bishops, or priests. I can change me. That’s it.
 
Exactly. We can hope and pray, but ours is a religion of prayer AND works.

IMO, that involves cutting off all financial support, all volunteers, and all social activities at the Church. Go for the sacraments, and only the sacraments. Ensure all child faith formation. programs are supervised by 2 or more parents with criminal background checks.

Have parents scrupulously monitor priests’ behaviour and report ANY offenders directly to the police. If the Church isn’t going to root out the rot, civil authorities will with the right guidance.

We could also circulate petitions in our individual diosceses requesting full disclosure of all abuse cases and their handling, and use a portion of the displaced donations to hire legal investigators to conduct standardized social censuses of all registered parishioners regarding whether they have experienced abuse to validate their records. (The challenge is there could be a survivorship bias—with abuse victims leaving the Church. We could get around this by issuing crowdfunded national censuses.)

Any allegations could be turned over directly to the police, with any leftover funds directed to care of victims or investigation of allegations.

The Church can choose to be ethical — and submit to the authority of the general priesthood — or cede the moral authority to have any place in our lives.

God loves us, and if our shepherds aren’t willing or able to step up and fix the problem, it’s incumbent upon us to take charge. I won’t stand idly by and watch a corrupt administration undermine Jesus’ mission, or others’ access to grace. Do we want Catholics to be seen as a bunch of people who settle and are complacent about atrocities in their midst, or are we going to stand up and strongly rebuke any members of the Church who permitted these horrible acts?

Our Church is only enduring and impervious to hell because WE THE CHURCH are empowered to take right action in the face of evil. If we don’t, we are complicit in allowing abuse to occur.
 
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And 1 billion other Catholics can change themselves, too. Imagine if we all made change—licit but impactful change—in a coordinated fashion! The corruption and abuse thrives on a scattered flock.
 
If we cut financial support and volunteerism, our children will by default be safe. There will be no PSR, there will be no RCIA.
 
What do you suggest that will work? I think given the land endowments and financial assets of the church, basic operating costs could be sustained for several years worldwide, at a cost only to the administration.
 
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I don’t have an answer. I just know that in my small rural parish, it is the volunteers and anonymous donors that make it work.
 
Being a volunteer and being able to provide for my local church is why I work 55 hours per week.
 
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Then you have to either:
  • Find an alternate source of leverage (easier said than done, I know!)
  • Find a way to continue access to sacraments without resourcing the corrupt (maybe through a quick and thorough investigation of your parish, until you’re certain it’s been vetted). This could mean giving more personally for a time—and convincing others to do so—so that a full census of paroshimers’ experiences can be taken. Then reinstate financing and support, with contracts in place to guarantee it ONLY supports your parish or similarly reviewed ones.
  • Make a tough choice to hurt the Church in the short term—potentially costing you your parish—in the hope of rebuilding the larger church
 
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That may work, but that’s nowhere I am willing to go. I’m just an old man. I try to be the best Catholic I can, but I fall short often. This would be a step I personally cannot take.
 
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