USCCB admits “great harm” caused by “some bishops”; outlines steps to address crisis
The bishops, for the first time, frankly acknowledge that there is a general corrosion of moral culture within the ranks of the Church’s clerical and hierarchical leadership.
Pope Francis meets with officials representing the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at the Vatican Sept. 13. From left are Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles, vice president of the conference, Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the conference, Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley of Boston, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, and Msgr. J. Brian Bransfield, general secretary of the conference. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
The US Conference of Catholic Bishops released a statement today, which for the first time gives Catholics some small reason to hope that maybe — just maybe — the episcopal leadership of the Church in the United States, at least, is beginning to understand the nature and gravity of the crisis their protracted failure has precipitated.
Issued by the Administrative Committee of the USCCB — the principal governing body of the Conference outside plenary session — the statement outlined four steps the Administrative Committee has taken on its own authority to address the crisis. Those steps are, in full:
Approval of the establishment of a third-party reporting system that will receive confidentially, by phone and online, complaints of sexual abuse of minors by a bishop and sexual harassment of or sexual misconduct with adults by a bishop and will direct those complaints to the appropriate ecclesiastical authority and, as required by applicable law, to civil authorities.
Instructions to the USCCB Committee on Canonical Affairs and Church Governance to develop proposals for policies addressing restrictions on bishops who were removed or resigned because of allegations of sexual abuse of minors or sexual harassment of or misconduct with adults, including seminarians and priests.
Initiation of the process of developing a Code of Conduct for bishops regarding the sexual abuse of a minor; sexual harassment of or sexual misconduct with an adult; or negligence in the exercise of his office related to such cases.
Support for a full investigation into the situation surrounding Archbishop McCarrick, including his alleged assaults on minors, priests, and seminarians, as well any responses made to those allegations. Such an investigation should rely upon lay experts in relevant fields, such as law enforcement and social services.
The Administrative Committee acknowledges that these steps are not adequate to address the full scope of the crisis. “This is only a beginning,” they write. They go on to call for broad consultation with concerned Catholics, including lay experts as well as clergy and religious, in order to develop and implement further measures. “We humbly welcome and are grateful for the assistance of the whole people of God in holding us accountable,” the Administrative Committee writes.
“Broad consultation” will likely not be enough to satisfy either the faithful or civil authorities with respect to the bishops’ bona fides in these regards. Responsible involvement of laity has become a sine qua non of any response to the crisis that wishes to have a hope of being credible.
Nevertheless, for the first time, the bishops frankly acknowledge that there is a general corrosion of moral culture within the ranks of the Church’s clerical and hierarchical leadership, which has destroyed the trust on which the bishops’ ability to lead must be based.
“Some bishops, by their actions or their failures to act, have caused great harm to both individuals and the Church as a whole,” the Administrative Committee writes at the top of their statement. “They have used their authority and power to manipulate and sexually abuse others,” they continue. “They have allowed the fear of scandal to replace genuine concern and care for those who have been victimized by abusers.” So forthright an admission of widespread failure and miscarriage of duty has been a long time coming. It is welcome, even though it does not satisfy.
One of the criticisms commentators and analysts — including this writer — have made of the bishops’ response, is that they have focused too exclusively on the case of Theodore McCarrick, giving the impression that they would have the faithful believe he was the problem, and not merely a grotesque and awful symptom of a systemic disease.
If such an acknowledgment was too long in coming and still not enough, it is a small step in the right direction. “For this, we again ask forgiveness from both the Lord and those who have been harmed,” the Administrative Committee says. “Turning to the Lord for strength,” they promise, “we must and will do better.”
The Administrative Committee concludes its statement with protestations of filial love for and loyalty to Pope Francis.
“Acting in communion with the Holy Father, with whom we once again renew our love, obedience, and loyalty,” they write, “we make our own the prayer of Pope Francis in his August 20 letter to the people of God: ‘May the Holy Spirit grant us the grace of conversion and the interior anointing needed to express before these crimes of abuse our compunction and our resolve courageously to combat them’.”
The Executive Committee of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops met with Pope Francis last Thursday to discuss the crisis. There were high hopes for that meeting heading into it, as the USCCB’s president, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston had announced his intention to ask the Holy Father to sanction an Apostolic Visitation into the McCarrick affair and related issues.
The result of that meeting was an expression of desire, “[of] continuing our discernment together identifying the most effective next steps.”
Now, it falls to the US bishops to make good on their commitments. It belongs to the faithful to hold them to the promises they have made, and to demand a responsible part in even stronger measures — ones really apt, as the Administrative Committee says, “to repair the scandal and restore justice.” Whether this is a real beginning of that long and arduous work, or merely more empty words, remains to be seen.
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Christopher R. Altieri is a journalist, editor and author of three books, including Reading the News Without Losing Your Faith (Catholic Truth Society, 2021). He is contributing editor to Catholic World Report.
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Pope Francis with a statue of the Virgin and Child. / Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.
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Pope Francis at the general audience in St. Peter’s Square, Oct. 5, 2016. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA.
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 13, 2023 / 13:15 pm (CNA).
Today marks the 10th anniversary of the election of Pope Francis as the 265th successor of St. Peter. Here is a timeline of key events during his papacy:
2013
March 13 — About two weeks after Pope Benedict XVI steps down from the papacy, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio is elected pope. He takes the papal name Francis in honor of St. Francis of Assisi and proclaims from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica: “Let us begin this journey, the bishop and people, this journey of the Church of Rome, which presides in charity over all the Churches, a journey of brotherhood in love, of mutual trust. Let us always pray for one another.”
March 14 — The day after he begins his pontificate, Pope Francis returns to his hotel to personally pay his hotel bill and collect his luggage.
July 8 — Pope Francis visits Italy’s island of Lampedusa and meets with a group of 50 migrants, most of whom are young men from Somalia and Eritrea. The island, which is about 200 miles off the coast of Tunisia, is a common entry point for migrants who flee parts of Africa and the Middle East to enter Europe. This is the pope’s first pastoral visit outside of Rome and sets the stage for making reaching out to the peripheries a significant focus.
Pope Francis gives the Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Oct. 2, 2013. . Elise Harris/CNA.
July 23–28 — Pope Francis visits Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to participate in World Youth Day 2013. More than 3 million people from around the world attend the event.
July 29 — On the return flight from Brazil, Pope Francis gives his first papal news conference and sparks controversy by saying “if a person is gay and seeks God and has goodwill, who am I to judge?” The phrase is prompted by a reporter asking the pope a question about priests who have homosexual attraction.
Nov. 24 — Pope Francis publishes his first apostolic exhortation Evangelii gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel). The document illustrates the pope’s vision for how to approach evangelization in the modern world.
2014
Feb. 22 — Pope Francis holds his first papal consistory to appoint 19 new cardinals, including ones from countries in the developing world that have never previously been represented in the College of Cardinals, such as Haiti.
March 22 — Pope Francis creates the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. The commission works to protect the dignity of minors and vulnerable adults, such as the victims of sexual abuse.
Pope Francis greets pilgrims during his general audience on Nov. 29, 2014. Bohumil Petrik/CNA.
Oct. 5 — The Synod on the Family begins. The bishops discuss a variety of concerns, including single-parent homes, cohabitation, homosexual adoption of children, and interreligious marriages.
Dec. 6 — After facing some pushback for his efforts to reform the Roman Curia, Pope Francis discusses his opinion in an interview with La Nacion, an Argentine news outlet: “Resistance is now evident. And that is a good sign for me, getting the resistance out into the open, no stealthy mumbling when there is disagreement. It’s healthy to get things out into the open, it’s very healthy.”
2015
Jan. 18 — To conclude a trip to Asia, Pope Francis celebrates Mass in Manila, Philippines. Approximately 6 million to 7 million people attend the record-setting Mass, despite heavy rain.
March 23 — Pope Francis visits Naples, Italy, to show the Church’s commitment to helping the fight against corruption and organized crime in the city.
May 24 — To emphasize the Church’s mission to combat global warming and care for the environment, Pope Francis publishes the encyclical Laudato si’, which urges people to take care of the environment and encourages political action to address climate problems.
Pope Francis at a Wednesday general audience in St. Peter’s Square on June 17, 2015. Bohumil Petrik.
Sept. 19–22 — Pope Francis visits Cuba and meets with Fidel Castro in the first papal visit to the country since Pope John Paul II in 1998. During his homily, Francis discusses the dignity of the human person: “Being a Christian entails promoting the dignity of our brothers and sisters, fighting for it, living for it.”
Sept. 22–27 — After departing from Cuba, Pope Francis makes his first papal visit to the United States. In Washington, D.C., he speaks to a joint session of Congress, in which he urges lawmakers to work toward promoting the common good, and canonizes the Franciscan missionary St. Junípero Serra. He also attends the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, which focuses on celebrating the gift of the family.
Oct. 4 — Pope Francis begins the second Synod on the Family to address issues within the modern family, such as single-parent homes, cohabitation, poverty, and abuse.
Oct. 18 — The pope canonizes St. Louis Martin and St. Marie-Azélie “Zelie” Guérin. The married couple were parents to five nuns, including St. Therese of Lisieux. They are the first married couple to be canonized together.
Dec. 8 — Pope Francis’ Jubilee Year of Mercy begins. The year focuses on God’s mercy and forgiveness and people’s redemption from sin. The pope delegates certain priests in each diocese to be Missionaries of Mercy who have the authority to forgive sins that are usually reserved for the Holy See.
2016
March 19 — Pope Francis publishes the apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia, which discusses a wide variety of issues facing the modern family based on discussions from the two synods on the family. The pope garners significant controversy from within the Church for comments he makes in Chapter 8 about Communion for the divorced and remarried.
April 16 — After visiting refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos, Pope Francis allows three Muslim refugee families to join him on his flight back to Rome. He says the move was not a political statement.
Pope Francis at the General Audience in St. Peter’s Square, Feb. 24, 2016. Daniel Ibanez/CNA.
July 26–31 — Pope Francis visits Krakow, Poland, as part of the World Youth Day festivities. About 3 million young Catholic pilgrims from around the world attend.
Sept. 4 — The pope canonizes St. Teresa of Calcutta, who is also known as Mother Teresa. The saint, a nun from Albania, dedicated her life to missionary and charity work, primarily in India.
Sept. 30–Oct. 2 — Pope Francis visits Georgia and Azerbaijan on his 16th trip outside of Rome since the start of his papacy. His trip focuses on Catholic relations with Orthodox Christians and Muslims.
Oct. 4 — Pope Francis makes a surprise visit to Amatrice, Italy, to pray for the victims of an earthquake in central Italy that killed nearly 300 people.
2017
May 12–13 — In another papal trip, Francis travels to Fatima, Portugal, to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima. May 13 marks the 100th anniversary of the first Marian apparition to three children in the city.
July 11 — Pope Francis adds another category of Christian life suitable for the consideration of sainthood: “offering of life.” The category is distinct from martyrdom, which only applies to someone who is killed for his or her faith. The new category applies to those who died prematurely through an offering of their life to God and neighbor.
Pope Francis greets a participant in the World Day of the Poor in Rome, Nov. 16, 2017. L’Osservatore Romano.
Nov. 19 — On the first-ever World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis eats lunch with 4,000 poor and people in need in Rome.
Nov. 27–Dec. 2 — In another trip to Asia, Pope Francis travels to Myanmar and Bangladesh. He visits landmarks and meets with government officials, Catholic clergy, and Buddhist monks. He also preaches the Gospel and promotes peace in the region.
2018
Jan. 15–21 — The pope takes another trip to Latin America, this time visiting Chile and Peru. The pontiff meets with government officials and members of the clergy while urging the faithful to remain close to the clergy and reject secularism. The Chilean visit leads to controversy over Chilean clergy sex abuse scandals.
Aug. 2 — The Vatican formally revises No. 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which concerns the death penalty. The previous text suggested the death penalty could be permissible in certain circumstances, but the revision states that the death penalty is “inadmissible.”
Aug. 25 — Archbishop Carlo Viganò, former papal nuncio to the United States, publishes an 11-page letter calling for the resignation of Pope Francis and accusing him and other Vatican officials of covering up sexual abuse including allegations against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. The pope initially does not directly respond to the letter, but nine months after its publication he denies having prior knowledge about McCarrick’s conduct.
Aug. 25–26 — Pope Francis visits Dublin, Ireland, to attend the World Meeting of Families. The theme is “the Gospel of family, joy for the world.”
Pope Francis at the 2018 World Meeting of Families in Ireland. . Daniel Ibanez/CNA.
Oct. 3–28 — The Synod on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment takes place. The synod focuses on best practices to teach the faith to young people and to help them discern God’s will.
2019
Jan. 22–27 — The third World Youth Day during Pope Francis’ pontificate takes place during these six days in Panama City, Panama. Young Catholics from around the world gather for the event, with approximately 3 million people in attendance.
Feb. 4 — Pope Francis signs a joint document in with Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, titled the “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together.” The document focuses on people of different faiths uniting together to live peacefully and advance a culture of mutual respect.
Pope Francis and Ahmed el-Tayeb, grand imam of al-Azhar, signed a joint declaration on human fraternity during an interreligious meeting in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Feb. 4, 2019. Vatican Media.
Feb. 21–24 — The Meeting on the Protection of Minors in the Church, which is labeled the Vatican Sexual Abuse Summit, takes place. The meeting focuses on sexual abuse scandals in the Church and emphasizes responsibility, accountability, and transparency.
Oct. 6–27 — The Church holds the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region, which is also known as the Amazon Synod. The synod is meant to present ways in which the Church can better evangelize the Amazon region but leads to controversy when carved images of a pregnant Amazonian woman, referred to by the pope as Pachamama, are used in several events and displayed in a basilica near the Vatican.
Oct. 13 — St. John Henry Newman, an Anglican convert to Catholicism and a cardinal, is canonized by Pope Francis. Newman’s writings inspired Catholic student associations at nonreligious colleges and universities in the United States and other countries.
2020
March 15 — Pope Francis takes a walking pilgrimage in Rome to the chapel of the crucifix and prays for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. The crucifix was carried through Rome during the plague of 1522.
March 27 — Pope Francis gives an extraordinary Urbi et Orbi blessing in an empty and rain-covered St. Peter’s Square, praying for the world during the coronavirus pandemic.
Pope Francis venerates the miraculous crucifix of San Marcello al Corso in St. Peter’s Square during his Urbi et Orbi blessing, March 27, 2020. Vatican Media.
2021
March 5–8 — In his first papal trip since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pope Francis becomes the first pope to visit Iraq. On his trip, he signs a joint statement with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani condemning extremism and promoting peace.
July 3 — Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, who was elevated to the College of Cardinals by Pope Francis, is indicted in a Vatican court for embezzlement, money laundering, and other crimes. The pope gives approval for the indictment.
July 4 — Pope Francis undergoes colon surgery for diverticulitis, a common condition in older people. The Vatican releases a statement that assures the pope “reacted well” to the surgery. Francis is released from the hospital after 10 days.
July 16 — Pope Francis issues a motu proprio titled Traditionis custodes. The document imposes heavy restrictions on the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass.
Dec. 2–6 — The pope travels to Cyprus and Greece. The trip includes another visit to the Greek island of Lesbos to meet with migrants.
Pope Francis greets His Beatitude Ieronymos II in Athens, Greece on Dec. 5, 2021. Vatican Media
2022
Jan. 11 — Pope Francis makes a surprise visit to a record store in Rome called StereoSound. The pope, who has an affinity for classical music, blesses the newly renovated store.
March 19 — The pope promulgates Praedicate evangelium, which reforms the Roman Curia. The reforms emphasize evangelization and establish more opportunities for the laity to be in leadership positions.
May 5 — Pope Francis is seen in a wheelchair for the first time in public and begins to use one more frequently. The pope has been suffering from knee problems for months.
Pope Francis greeted the crowd in a wheelchair at the end of his general audience on Aug. 3, 2022. Daniel Ibanez/CNA
July 24–30 — In his first papal visit to Canada, Pope Francis apologizes for the harsh treatment of the indigenous Canadians, saying many Christians and members of the Catholic Church were complicit.
2023
Jan. 31–Feb. 5 — Pope Francis travels to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. During his visit, the pope condemns political violence in the countries and promotes peace. He also participates in an ecumenical prayer service with Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Moderator of the Church of Scotland Iain Greenshields.
Shouldn’t the Bishop of Rome, if guilty of negligence, fall under the scope of the following edicts? I just don’t get this seeming assumption of immunity for a Pope. Donatism aside.
“Initiation of the process of developing a Code of Conduct for bishops regarding the sexual abuse of a minor; sexual harassment of or sexual misconduct with an adult; or negligence in the exercise of his office related to such cases.”
Show me where the word “homosexual” appears even once in this word salad of policies-and-procedures bureaucratic bafflegab. Show me even one bishop who admits that he made grave mistakes. Show me even a single commitment that homosexuals will be barred from seminaries and deposed immediately if they have received Holy Orders. There are rude and vulgar terms that expressly more fittingly what this is. The polite phrase would be dung.
Spot on, Paul.
He words ‘homosexual priests’ cannot be spoken, much less the words ‘sexually agressive homosexual priests’.
These men are the “filth” of which BXVI spoke.
The USCCB is a very expensive sewer.
This is good, but I feel they’re still ‘tip-toeing’ around the problems. My faith in the Bishops telling the full truth of the matter is still dubious…but my faith in Jesus is unshaken.
“The situation surrounding Archbishop McCarrick”, yes, but only an initial beginning…
Nothing here, yet, about exposing and restricting in some way (?) McCarrick’s past influence-peddling in the elevation of some–who now are positioned to help deal with (?) only the more easily-quarantined aspects of the Scandal of 2018. At the global scale, Pope Benedict XVI resigned largely because of the metastacized NEXUS between homosexual infiltration/tolerance AND money laundering in the Vatican Bank.
Then there’s the resulting issue of truncated evangelization. Will the so-called “Truce of 1968” (mutual silence re Humanae Vitae) be followed by a Truce of 2018 (no direct response to insidious and septic homosexual-culture intrusion)?
The reassurance that “this is only the beginning” will come to mean more when the USCCB finds a way to deal with McCarrick’s modern-day simony (clique membership as the currency du jour), and the resulting, selective and eliding proclamation of the Gospel, that is, marketable political and social goals segregated from clear guidance in perennial morality. The Beatitudes are one thing, but the Commandments are still another: “…the commandment of love of God and neighbor does not have in its dynamic any higher limit, but it does have a lower limit, beneath which the commandment is broken” (Veritatis Splendor, n. 52).
And the worst cut of all would be if the laity is maneuvered by Old Scratch to regard the USCCB/all of the bishops as “they”, rather than as one with “us” within the sacramental Body of Christ.
I’m beginning to think that it is not past the USCCB to further prove the genuineness of their corrective/collective actions to call in ‘The Looooooooone Ranger’ aka [Fr. James Martin] to convince Catholics in America of the bishops sincerity.
Okee Dokee. Someone find a place for ‘Silver’ to stay while Fr. Martin convinces everyone we can relax…………”Everything’s gonna be OK.”
The statements of the article ore so general and ambiguous. They don’t seem to have any teeth in them nothing concrete. And the Holy Father’s “silence” is troubling to me.
They do not deserve any faithful Catholic’s trust.
Pope Francis is totally without credibility, having, even before his numerous abusive acts as Pope, devoted his previous episcopal career to protecting sex abuser Rev. Julio Grassi, the notorious Argentina abuser now imprisoned for 15 years.
This explains Pope Francis restoring the sex abuser McCarrick, restoring the sex abuse coverup artist Cardinal Danneels, and restoring priestly faculties to the homosexual predator Rev. Mauro Inzoli, despite the man being investigated and found guilty by the CDF and stripped of priestly faculties by Pope Benedict.
“Support for a full investigation into the situation surrounding ArchBishop McCarrick”.
Given that he has been plying his slimy trade since about 1971 I think busting him down to regular Priest would be a good start and MIGHT help to BEGIN to restore a small measure of trust here. IMO nothing can really get done until these people understand the depths of our distrust of them. All the gobbledygook talk, at which they are very proficient, does nothing to address that. It will take some empty collection plates to get their attention.
What they would really like to proclaim in the same breath as Bergoglio’s death sentence “realization” is that not only is the image of God retained by those who gravely sin but also the “additional virtue” of grace and the image of Christ. (see. Stephen Long’s “Magisterial Irresponsibility” for the inspiration/borrowing of terms used here). For this Pope and hierarchy, it is not possible, as in Thomas, for man to be “worse than the beasts who cannot sin.”
Bergoglio is taking us further into sin mysticism (and NGOism) uniting the better sinners with the better anonymous Christians and the better atheists who cannot be hypocrites in essentially what is a politics of this world vs a “theology.” Is even God Himself truly transcendent for these Bishops, but also “in process.”
In short, ‘the harm done?” If McCarrick is really a “private matter” (a la Maradiaga) for them that got away along with other “consensual” relationships, what is the meaning of anything they say? Why should we give them any money?
It’s “not just about McCarrick” so let’s not focus on him? Here’s my snide response at this point: is it OK if we investigate/prosecute/toss out all the various McCarricks on the list lesser and greater before we realize these various McCarricks as deeper symptoms and do this clean up without any need really for a deeper diagnosis other than sin?
What’s being given short shrift in all of this “sexual scandal” is the role of money, financial misconduct.
“Discernment?” Willed ignorance.
At this point I have more faith in “the weapon,” the Rosary…in God’s will… in our enemies in civil authority.
As Phillip Lawler points out (see his story at Catholic Culture), now that the US Bishops came back with no announcement of apostolic visitation, we now know for certain what many suspected: Pope Francis will do nothing to investigate the sins and crimes of Bishops. We now know from Francis himself that he will do nothing to bring the truth to light.
One knows when one is in trouble of losing touch with reality when the phrase used to describe the investigation of a serial criminal is an “Apostolic Visitation”.
I’m a lay member of the Catholic Church in Europe and here is my opinion : Any bishop (this includes the Pope, bishop of Rome), priest or deacon of the Church who covered up just one single proven sexual abuse case, should immediately resign/be made to resign and immediately be deprived of his ecclesiastical rank, authority and function. We’ve had more than enough words now, we very urgently and desperately need concrete actions. If these radical but fair actions are not undertaken in a very near future to restore my confidence in the Chruch’s leadership, I for one, will cease to support the Church financially. These depraved men are a complete disgrace to the Body of Christ.
And the Pope continues to wash his hands of it.
Shouldn’t the Bishop of Rome, if guilty of negligence, fall under the scope of the following edicts? I just don’t get this seeming assumption of immunity for a Pope. Donatism aside.
“Initiation of the process of developing a Code of Conduct for bishops regarding the sexual abuse of a minor; sexual harassment of or sexual misconduct with an adult; or negligence in the exercise of his office related to such cases.”
Show me where the word “homosexual” appears even once in this word salad of policies-and-procedures bureaucratic bafflegab. Show me even one bishop who admits that he made grave mistakes. Show me even a single commitment that homosexuals will be barred from seminaries and deposed immediately if they have received Holy Orders. There are rude and vulgar terms that expressly more fittingly what this is. The polite phrase would be dung.
Exactly — all your points
There’s more wordsalad, as you say.
Don’t hold your breath
Spot on, Paul.
He words ‘homosexual priests’ cannot be spoken, much less the words ‘sexually agressive homosexual priests’.
These men are the “filth” of which BXVI spoke.
The USCCB is a very expensive sewer.
This is good, but I feel they’re still ‘tip-toeing’ around the problems. My faith in the Bishops telling the full truth of the matter is still dubious…but my faith in Jesus is unshaken.
More USCCB gibberish. I searched the word “homosexual.” Nowhere to be found, of course. I don’t want tp hear anything more from this lavender mafia.
“The situation surrounding Archbishop McCarrick”, yes, but only an initial beginning…
Nothing here, yet, about exposing and restricting in some way (?) McCarrick’s past influence-peddling in the elevation of some–who now are positioned to help deal with (?) only the more easily-quarantined aspects of the Scandal of 2018. At the global scale, Pope Benedict XVI resigned largely because of the metastacized NEXUS between homosexual infiltration/tolerance AND money laundering in the Vatican Bank.
Then there’s the resulting issue of truncated evangelization. Will the so-called “Truce of 1968” (mutual silence re Humanae Vitae) be followed by a Truce of 2018 (no direct response to insidious and septic homosexual-culture intrusion)?
The reassurance that “this is only the beginning” will come to mean more when the USCCB finds a way to deal with McCarrick’s modern-day simony (clique membership as the currency du jour), and the resulting, selective and eliding proclamation of the Gospel, that is, marketable political and social goals segregated from clear guidance in perennial morality. The Beatitudes are one thing, but the Commandments are still another: “…the commandment of love of God and neighbor does not have in its dynamic any higher limit, but it does have a lower limit, beneath which the commandment is broken” (Veritatis Splendor, n. 52).
And the worst cut of all would be if the laity is maneuvered by Old Scratch to regard the USCCB/all of the bishops as “they”, rather than as one with “us” within the sacramental Body of Christ.
The pope is a bishop. I would assume this applies to him. Ah.. but he is not an american bishop. My mistake.
Why is it always some of the bishops and some of the priests, but almost always all of the laity?
I’m beginning to think that it is not past the USCCB to further prove the genuineness of their corrective/collective actions to call in ‘The Looooooooone Ranger’ aka [Fr. James Martin] to convince Catholics in America of the bishops sincerity.
Okee Dokee. Someone find a place for ‘Silver’ to stay while Fr. Martin convinces everyone we can relax…………”Everything’s gonna be OK.”
Hi Ho Silver………..and away.
The statements of the article ore so general and ambiguous. They don’t seem to have any teeth in them nothing concrete. And the Holy Father’s “silence” is troubling to me.
These men deserve to be investigated.
They do not deserve any faithful Catholic’s trust.
Pope Francis is totally without credibility, having, even before his numerous abusive acts as Pope, devoted his previous episcopal career to protecting sex abuser Rev. Julio Grassi, the notorious Argentina abuser now imprisoned for 15 years.
This explains Pope Francis restoring the sex abuser McCarrick, restoring the sex abuse coverup artist Cardinal Danneels, and restoring priestly faculties to the homosexual predator Rev. Mauro Inzoli, despite the man being investigated and found guilty by the CDF and stripped of priestly faculties by Pope Benedict.
“Support for a full investigation into the situation surrounding ArchBishop McCarrick”.
Given that he has been plying his slimy trade since about 1971 I think busting him down to regular Priest would be a good start and MIGHT help to BEGIN to restore a small measure of trust here. IMO nothing can really get done until these people understand the depths of our distrust of them. All the gobbledygook talk, at which they are very proficient, does nothing to address that. It will take some empty collection plates to get their attention.
What they would really like to proclaim in the same breath as Bergoglio’s death sentence “realization” is that not only is the image of God retained by those who gravely sin but also the “additional virtue” of grace and the image of Christ. (see. Stephen Long’s “Magisterial Irresponsibility” for the inspiration/borrowing of terms used here). For this Pope and hierarchy, it is not possible, as in Thomas, for man to be “worse than the beasts who cannot sin.”
Bergoglio is taking us further into sin mysticism (and NGOism) uniting the better sinners with the better anonymous Christians and the better atheists who cannot be hypocrites in essentially what is a politics of this world vs a “theology.” Is even God Himself truly transcendent for these Bishops, but also “in process.”
In short, ‘the harm done?” If McCarrick is really a “private matter” (a la Maradiaga) for them that got away along with other “consensual” relationships, what is the meaning of anything they say? Why should we give them any money?
It’s “not just about McCarrick” so let’s not focus on him? Here’s my snide response at this point: is it OK if we investigate/prosecute/toss out all the various McCarricks on the list lesser and greater before we realize these various McCarricks as deeper symptoms and do this clean up without any need really for a deeper diagnosis other than sin?
What’s being given short shrift in all of this “sexual scandal” is the role of money, financial misconduct.
“Discernment?” Willed ignorance.
At this point I have more faith in “the weapon,” the Rosary…in God’s will… in our enemies in civil authority.
As Phillip Lawler points out (see his story at Catholic Culture), now that the US Bishops came back with no announcement of apostolic visitation, we now know for certain what many suspected: Pope Francis will do nothing to investigate the sins and crimes of Bishops. We now know from Francis himself that he will do nothing to bring the truth to light.
One knows when one is in trouble of losing touch with reality when the phrase used to describe the investigation of a serial criminal is an “Apostolic Visitation”.
I’m a lay member of the Catholic Church in Europe and here is my opinion : Any bishop (this includes the Pope, bishop of Rome), priest or deacon of the Church who covered up just one single proven sexual abuse case, should immediately resign/be made to resign and immediately be deprived of his ecclesiastical rank, authority and function. We’ve had more than enough words now, we very urgently and desperately need concrete actions. If these radical but fair actions are not undertaken in a very near future to restore my confidence in the Chruch’s leadership, I for one, will cease to support the Church financially. These depraved men are a complete disgrace to the Body of Christ.
Two years, eight months have passed—seems things are still on a downward grade at USCCB.