The Catholic Church Needs Purification, Renewal and Restoration to Rise to a New Missionary Moment

By Deacon Keith Fournier
2/27/2013
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Catholic Online intentionally chose to NOT enter into the feeding frenzy

The allegations concerning clergy who have committed egregious sins and succumbed to the basest of sexual deviance- by committing criminal, immoral acts against children - demand a brutally honest assessment concerning the morally depleted condition of our beloved Church in the more devastated parts of the vineyard. The perpetrators of these abuses must be stopped and face the consequences of their acts. There is mercy for them. However, it is on the other side of justice for the victims and housecleaning for the Church. They know that they have sinned and hiding will not free them from the bondage.

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VATICAN CITY (Catholic Online) - All weekend long the European Press was rife with speculation over a 300 page report from three cardinals given to Pope Benedict XVI on December 17, 2012. It reflected the results of an investigation into the Vati- Leaks episode. Speculation over the content of the report led to a series of articles in the European press which filtered back to the States over the weekend. Catholic Online intentionally chose to NOT enter into the feeding frenzy. The sources were questionable and the tenor was sensational.

Some reports insinuated that the contents of the report could have contributed to the Pope's decision to resign his office. They offered no objective proof. That claim simply did not fit what we know to be true about the man who has served with such humility, integrity, holiness, theological profundity and quiet courage for nearly eight years, Pope Benedict XVI.

Among the more salacious claims was that the report exposed some sort of lavender mafia, a homosexual network of clerics which may have even attempted to blackmail the Pope. The feeding frenzy in the European press finally led to an editorial from Fr Federico Lombardi entitled A Penitential Time which can be read in its entirety here.

He noted "There is no lack, in fact, of those who seek to profit from the moment of surprise and disorientation of the spiritually naive to sow confusion and to discredit the Church and its governance, making recourse to old tools, such as gossip, misinformation and sometimes slander, or exercising unacceptable pressures to condition the exercise of the voting duty on the part of one or another member of the College of Cardinals, who they consider to be objectionable for one reason or another."

"In the majority of cases, those who present themselves as judges, making heavy moral judgments, do not, in truth, have any authority to do so. Those who consider money, sex and power before all else and are used to reading diverse realities from these perspectives, are unable to see anything else, even in the Church, because they are unable to gaze toward the heights or descend to the depths in order to grasp the spiritual dimensions and reasons of existence."

"This results in a description of the Church and of many of its members that is profoundly unjust. But all of this will not change the attitude of believers; it will not erode the faith and the hope with which they see the Lord, who promised to accompany his Church."

This report will be handed to the next successor of Peter. There is little doubt it will contain news concerning corruption within the Church, including sexual immorality and sin committed by clerics, priests, deacons and Bishops. This is a troubling time in our Church.

I recently received a distressing letter from a devout Catholic and gifted writer whom I greatly admire Monday morning. She found out that her home parish was a place where a sexual predator priest from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles was sent by now Cardinal Mahoney after having been accused. She was justifiably angry and disillusioned that a child predator priest was sent to potentially victimize more children.

This came on the heels of the startling announcement that Cardinal Keith O'Brien of Scotland, a strong defender of life and marriage who as of Friday had denied allegations he had engaged in immoral acts with priests thirty years ago, had his retirement accepted by the Pope.

After the allegations surfaced last week the Cardinal had announced that that he had retained legal counsel and was going to attend the papal convocation. Though we must presume the good for all who serve the Church, the abrupt change in direction was distressing to say the least, especially for this seasoned civil trial and appellate lawyer.

Blessed John Paul II labeled the cultural climate that has given us the rancid fruit of unrestricted abortion, euthanasia, and growing disregard for the dignity of every human person a culture of death. There is a common root between many of the controversial issues that are at the foundation of much of our contemporary crisis, it is infidelity. The culture of death has crept into the sanctuary of the Church.

There is a failure to respect the dignity of every human person because they ...

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1 - 10 of 21 Comments

Rob
2 months ago
I still think we are missing the mark. Seems like we are still so focused on the rules...who's following them and who's not. This is a problem sure, but not the main problem. Our main problem is that the church has stopped calling people to become disciples. The American church is the worst. Day in and day out all we hear about is gay this or that, Obama and contraception etc. There is absolutely no call to follow Christ. There is no call to lay our lives down. Somehow Jesus seems to have become a lesser part of following the rules so I can be a "good catholic." Feels like a country club instead of a church sometimes.

Uncoverted people are never going to get it. Purification of the church is a good thing no doubt. But what the church really needs is to re-focus on it's primary mission. If we aren't evangelizing to our brothers and sisters in our immediate circles, then we are the problem, not the church. The church, like our society, will change when hearts and minds become more like Jesus.

It's really that simple and we just keep pointing at every problem under the sun as the reason why things are so bad. We keep pointing outward when perhaps we need to look in the mirror and do some pointing.
robert matzinger
2 months ago
We don't need "purification" as much as we simply need strong powerful leadership and guidance from our Priests, Bishops, Cardinals and our new Holy Father in restoring our beliefs in our traditional Catholic teachings in our church.
don cappy
2 months ago
Right on, the Pope must be more aggressive against these immoral acts, as well as the corruption of the sole by those who value freedom over their responsibility to the laws of God
Omar
2 months ago
I am truly considering leaving the Catholic Church. I do not have an issue with my Catholic faith the issue and disdain I have is with the Vatican, Cardinals, Archbishops, Priests and other groups(Political, lobbyist, etc) whom are corrupting the catholic faith. The new pope must clean house and that dossier must be made know to all catholics. If new pope does not do that and change the church to accept married priest, women priests, etc. I will leave my CATHOLIC FAITH in a heart beat. Saint Michael please come and protect our catholic faith just like you guard and protect heaven and Israel.
Emma
2 months ago
I can't argue that purification is not called for, however we should also be boldly speaking out for and supporting (both in word and prayer) the good, holy priests, deacons and bishops who have faithfully served God and who continue to serve Him today. How strong they must need to be to continue in servi to Christ, to not give up on His flock! We counter darkness with Light! From this day forward, whenever I'm confronted with a story of an abusive priest, I will stand ready with the names of ten who I know to be serving with humility, charity and great courage! Let's not forget how many there are! We all know scandal sells! We all know that the animal that is fed the most is the one that gains strength. True? Let's feed and nurture those who are true servants and stop feeding the beast!!

As for contraceptives, Catholic teaching becomes more clear when I examine it by turning my attention to male contraceptives. If it is wrong for a man to use a condom or have a vasectomy, which specifically are utilized to PREVENT fertiliizatiion, it follows that it is also wrong for a woman to use artificial means to prevent fertilization. On the other hand, there's nothing unnatural about a woman tellling her husband, " Not tonight, honey. " We do it all the time. Not only when ovulating.
Dr. John
2 months ago
Interesting and thoughtful responses to my comments.
First off, the contraception issue was actually intended to be a minor portion of my comment and got somewhat wordy. I did not meant to imply that Deacon Keith was spreading misinformation. He did not make that comment at all. It was an argument I have heard made.
It is so easy to get sidetracked into arguments over portions of our faith and miss the big picture.
I have a deep love for my faith and after returning to it from a long and lonely hiatus I am deeply protective of it and of my brothers and sisters. I have no doubt that all of you do as well and I pray every day for the cleansing and purification of our leadership.
There are no gray issues. We have an instruction manual and a living example to follow. When we fail to do that we damage the church and the message beyond repair. We might as well be following Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggert if we are not going to hold our leadership responsible to the world and to each one of us.
If Jesus returned today would he join us or shun us?
K C Thomas
2 months ago
Dr John, I understand your arguments. But may I tell you my interpretation. The natural family planning method is only a way to make the couple understand the value of abstinence on some days. The other so called safe days too may bring about pregnancy in rare cases, but the couple accepts it. Once contraception is considered not sinful, even many other types of sins of the flesh can be argued to be considered as not sinful. It will be a pandora's box. If we believe in our Church teachings, we have to suffer a bit, we have to abstain.... all these are crosses we have to carry. A sincere believer practicing his faith can guage the difference between lust and Love. There is tremendous difference. If we do not believe, there is no problem.
Gerald.ch21cpg
2 months ago
The writer's claim that "The victims must be helped with healing and restitution." This is a very mundane answer. I would rather that, "the victims must be helped in restoring their faith in God and the Church." This is a more God-centered choice of words.

The statement "That means that her clergy - Priests, Bishops and Deacons - must all be holy as the Lord Himself is holy." is also a misunderstanding of Jesus' work. Man will never be without sin, as stated by Jesus Himself. He continues to be with us, even now, and we can only strive for remission of sin and acceptance into heaven upon our death.

Further, the statement that "If the Church is going to lead this contemporary age out of the Culture of Death, she must become a Culture of Life and a civilization of love." implies that secularity must direct the Catholic Church's goals and this goes directly against why Jesus instituted it.
Jennifer
2 months ago
Dr. John, now I have to take issue with some of your remarks. There is a fundamental difference -- and it is the moral difference -- between abstaining during fertile periods and using chemicals or synthetic barriers to prevent conception from the act of sexual intercourse. The difference is, abstinence means there is no sex act to corrupt or abuse or attempt to render infertile. It is cooperation with, and not an effort to subvert, the natural biological process of fertility and conception. Every act of sexual union between husband and wife must remain open to the possibility of new life, or it is inherently selfish and seeking only pleasure. That doesn't mean the Church is saying there's anything wrong with pleasure, or that sexual intercourse isn't supposed to be bonding and mutually fulfilling for the spouses. Only that the physical love between spouses has a holy purpose, and we don't have the right to corrupt that purpose with our chemicals and such.

Finally, it is simply not true that artificial hormonal steroids, aka The Pill, do not prevent conception, but only ovulation. The Pill also alters the woman's cervical mucus, making it inhospitable for the survival of sperm, and it makes the lining of the womb also inhospitable for implantation. There's the key: it used to be that "conception" meant the act of sperm joining with ovum. Now, today's abortion-friendly medical lingo has falsely taken to using the term "conception" to mean implantation. Two very different events in the life of a new human being. The Pill can render the uterus hostile toward a newly conceived human being by altering the lining of the uterus. That doesn't mean a new human being wasn't conceived. Deacon Keith presented NO misinformation at all.
theresa rosen
2 months ago
Why is Cardinal Mahoney going to the Conclave? Why can't Pope Benedict stop him? Let a priest/bishop/cardinal who allowed the sexual abuse of children by priests under him - he should be in jail, defrocked. A woman/girl has an abortion after incest or rape, and she's immediately excommunicated.

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