Where the Rubber Hits the Road

In the wake of the Irish sexual abuse scandal, Pope Benedict XVI summoned the Irish Bishops to the Vatican for a thorough review of how these matters were mishandled for many years. The Pontiff went even further is stating that the scandal was allowed to fester and grow due to a "failure of  leadership" on the part of the Irish Bishops. Click here to read the article which was published by CatholicWorldReport.com.

Here are the results of a Gallup Poll published today on the public standing of the Roman Catholic Church. So long as our Bishops and clergy do not forcefully and openly begin to address the issues raised by the malfeasance of the hierarchy and offending priests, the situation is only going to get worse. It's the "Quiet Revolution" all over again. I pray that soon the tragic lessons learned from those times might soon inspire and strengthen our Church to begin to walk a different path; not to stand in silent acquiescence and shame, but justly, forcefully and honestly address the challenges that threatens the faith of many.

In the light of the Pope's current endorsement of priest's bringing their ministry onto the pages of the internet, I thought it might be instructional to describe what commitment it takes to maintain and produce as much text and postings as I do in the pages of this blog. There is no question but that the up-keep of a virtual presence does require time, commitment and a discipline if any priest does not succumb to the allure of the internet. It can be quite an ego stroke to have even hundreds of people think enough of one's intellect and argument that they would visit one's blog - especially if one is feeling less than fulfilled with the numbers who regularly listen to him on any given Sunday. The seduction of letting this misordered intention can lead a priest to become a focal point for those who bear a grudge due to some grievance, perceived or real. This might lead a priest to become a point of opposition and conflict, bring injury to the Body of Christ. To this e...

Written in response to the question "Why do Catholic clergy failings garner such national salacious  coverage when Protestant failed clergy often get little or no national media coverage?" -------------------------------------- If I may point out one essential difference between the protestant vs catholic experience of their respective scandals: in their case the institutional response was too one-sided with the alleged victim over and against their paid and ordained staff. I personally can remember ministers who were ridden out of town when they were found to be be without the support of their employer in the face of such allegations, even when they were later proven to be unfounded. And by God, it was splashed across the pages of local papers on a regular basis from coast to coast so often that they no longer warranted coverage by the national media. We Catholics on the other hand, have been found culpable of dealing with these same sorts of matters in a deceitful and ha...

I have listed a number of interesting articles in the 'referenced articles' box on the left hand side of the page. Peggy Noonan, former American Ambassador to the Vatican and a leading voice in the societal debates of the public square of the arguments for faith published a column in the Wall Street Journal on the proper attitude to face the challenges of 2010. The tag line that introduces the article says it all, "While so many of our institutions have failed, we can repair them. The first step is to take personal responsibility." Deacon Greg Kandra posts on his blog an informative article on the process of choosing Bishops. Given the example offered in the face of the Irish Bishops who have resigned in the wake of revelations that showed their complicity in the recent scandals that have recently come to light via a government inquiry into the scandal, this may become an increasingly relevant issue for Canadian Catholics. I am left to wonder if the Irish episcopa...

Another exchange worth noting from the threads of the Holy Post Blog (National Post) by Outlaw_CA Jan 02 2010 5:33 AM AUGUST 23, 2007 Catholic Church Sex Abuse Crisis and Code Words After many years of representing survivors of priest sexual abuse, I've come to recognize the various euphemisms or code words that the church has used to hide the sexual abuse perpetrated by its priests, nuns, and religious. These words are found in the internal church documents which are only available after long and difficult court battles with the church. Such words as particular friendship, indiscretion, abnormal relationship, overfamiliarity, unfortunate incidents, unacceptable behavior are code words for sexual abuse of minors. Even such words as alchoholism, depression, and stress have been used to cover up the underlying issue of sexual abuse. When I've examined the personnel records of these priests, I've found such terms as "on sabba...