The Catholic Church hierarchy continues to shoot itself in its collective foot (or should that be feet?) on a regular basis. Pope Francis accepted the resignation of the Bishop of São José do Rio Preto on Wednesday, five days after a sexually explicit video of the bishop was shared on the internet. . .… Continue reading *SIGH* . . . Why am I not surprised???
Tag: Catholic sex abuse scandal
The rot is deeply entrenched, and has not been cut out
Following recent revelations that the General Secretary of the US Catholic bishops’ conference had been caught living an active homosexual lifestyle, commenters are emphasizing – as I did at the time – that this is a problem from the top down. The wrong people were allowed to ascend the hierarchy; and now, from their… Continue reading The rot is deeply entrenched, and has not been cut out
Aaaannd the Catholic Church shoots itself in the [insert body part of your choice here] yet again
If anyone thinks that the upper echelons of the Catholic Church learned anything from the clergy sex abuse scandal, and/or implemented true, effective reforms that would prevent such scandals from recurring . . . think again. Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill, former general secretary of the U.S. bishops’ conference, announced his resignation Tuesday, after The Pillar… Continue reading Aaaannd the Catholic Church shoots itself in the [insert body part of your choice here] yet again
*SIGH* A post-Christian Catholic Church?
Two headlines caught my eye during the past week. Both make me sad, angry and depressed about the once-great institution known as the Catholic Church. Long-term readers will know why: for those who don’t, see the articles in the sidebar on the subject, particularly this one. The first report, from the BBC, discusses the ongoing… Continue reading *SIGH* A post-Christian Catholic Church?
Did the Catholic Church try to interfere in the course of justice?
I was angry to read allegations that the Pope interfered in a clergy sex abuse case in Australia. They’re not (yet) independently verified, but given my experience of such shenanigans (of which more later), they ring true. A low-ranking parish priest who agreed to give evidence against an archbishop accused of concealing child sexual abuse was… Continue reading Did the Catholic Church try to interfere in the course of justice?
Ornithology, not ecclesiology – thank heaven!
A news headline made me sit up in sudden concern last week: Cardinal with rare abnormality discovered in central Texas However, I needn’t have worried. It didn’t refer to yet another sex scandal in the Catholic Church! According to the Inland Bird Banding Association, the bird shows apparent bilateral gynandromorphism, a rare abnormality that causes… Continue reading Ornithology, not ecclesiology – thank heaven!
Is the Catholic Church becoming just another hotbed of secular humanism?
American pentecostal evangelist Bob Mumford, whom I’ve mentioned in these pages before, once defined secular humanism as “what happens when the world evangelizes the church”. I don’t think he was far wrong in that assessment. More and more often, one sees churches and denominations behaving just like the world around them, ignoring the clarion call from the… Continue reading Is the Catholic Church becoming just another hotbed of secular humanism?
The Catholic Church’s institutional rotten core
Let me reiterate that I’m not opposed to the Catholic faith as such. I was born and raised in that faith, I became a priest, and I worked hard to be faithful to its teachings. However, the clergy sex abuse scandal, and in particular the way bishops expected their priests to deliberately mislead and lie… Continue reading The Catholic Church’s institutional rotten core
Catholic bishops and the “action plan” – wrongly focused
Yesterday Pope Francis presented an “action plan” to a summit meeting of bishops, for combating the sexual abuse of children by priests. I find it woefully inadequate, a mere re-hash of concepts and proposals advanced many years ago, with no new thinking. I fear it will be completely useless, because it’s focused on the wrong… Continue reading Catholic bishops and the “action plan” – wrongly focused
The self-inflicted abdication of moral authority
Two searing headlines about the Catholic Church and the morality (or otherwise) of some of its clergy sum up the current mess in that institution. Pope publicly acknowledges clergy sexual abuse of nuns Four in five Vatican priests are gay, book claims That, plus the persistent refusal of so many Church leaders to publicly proclaim… Continue reading The self-inflicted abdication of moral authority