The striking, simple solutions to solving the crisis of scandal within the Church

The Catholic Church in the United States continues to suffer from scandal. New York recently released the names of 120 clergy accused of sexually abusing children, in what is one of the largest disclosures of names yet. Across the nation, these scandals continue to unfold. The crisis combines with and contributes to other problems in the Church, including declining attendance and a shortage of clergy. What can be done to reverse these trends? 

Highlights

By Marshall Connolly (Catholic Online)
Catholic Online (https://www.catholic.org)
5/2/2019 (5 years ago)

Published in U.S.

Keywords: Catholic, Church, scandal, deacons, priests

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York released the names of 120 clergy who are accused of abusing children last Friday. The disclosure is the largest yet made by the Church. Such disclosures are critical to cleansing the Church of scandal. 

For decades --and possibly longer, some in the the Church have sought to first protect its reputation from harm and, in the process, forgot about its first obligation to protect the sheep from the wolves. Many now ask, "how can the Church speak credibly on moral issues if its clergy are immoral?" 

This misguided effort to protect its reputation first and care for the victims second has itself caused scandal - as some bishops have even sought to cover up the crimes of priests. In some cases, they have been the ones who committed the evil. The error of this strategic blunder, putting reputation first, rather than exposing sin, protecting victims and insisting on holiness from the clergy, cannot be overstated. 

Millions of lapsed Catholics and many critics of the Church cite these attempted cover ups as the reason for their departure and loathing of the Church. And the scandalous effort to cover up these crimes instead of exposing them has only exacerbated the problem of people in the pews growing suspect of the authority of their own church.

The solution, one which Pope Francis and several bishops of the Church have advocated, is to publicize the evil and criminal acts and report them to legitimate authority.  By doing this, the Church can expose and eliminate those who are responsible for the moral decay from within. And, help to rebuild trust. 

However, publicizing names is not enough. Action is required.

The Church must consider other measures which will rebuild its credibility and protect its reputation in the years to come. 

The first measure is to deal with all whose sexual acts which are inconsistent with the clear moral teaching of the Bible and the Catholic Church. This includes dealing with homosexual practice  within the clergy, as well as exposing and punishing the evil of pedophilia. 

Here's a shocking statistic. According to research conducted by the Vatican itself and other organizations, the number of homosexual clergy could range between 15 to 60 percent. No study is sure, but no study has found the number to be below 15 percent. Some claims are absurd, but it is certain this is a serious issue within the clergy. 

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The Church does not forbid all men who have had a same sex attraction from serving as clergy, under the condition they can remain celibate and stay faithful to the teaching of the Church. The same rule applies to heterosexual candidates for the priesthood. As long as they remain committed to celibacy there is no  cause for concern. 

At the same time, Church teaching is clear. Homosexual behavior is "objectively disordered" and is an "intrinsic moral evil." Any member of the clergy who engages in sexual activity, either hetero or homosexual, endangers themselves and the person with whom they act. They engage in serious, mortal sin. They also causes scandal and injures the reputation of the Church as a whole. All sins have a communal aspect to them, and these sins very much so. 

Marriage is an indissoluble union between one man and one woman, intended for life and open to new life, through the gift of children. Sexual activity is reserved for marriage alone. Anything outside of this is intrinsically wrong, and the Church should take aggressive measures to oppose and prevent such behavior among its celibate clergy. 

This must include screening of potential priests, thorough background investigation, and taking swift action, even if the behavior is lawful according to the state. Although clergy are in demand, the way to fix the problem isn't to lower expectations, but to raise them. This may seem paradoxical to some, but setting a high standard actually may make the vocation more noble and more desirable. 

The Church can take other, reasonable steps that may be less obvious, but would have a positive effect. For example, expanding the use of laity and deacons in areas of service. 

The administrative work of the Church should be performed by lay professionals. Priests do not become priests so they can sit in meetings, pour over spreadsheets, and deal with the minutiae of day-to-day business affairs. There are plenty of experienced lay professionals who are able and willing to do such work. The priests should do what they signed up to do, which is to provide pastoral care to parishioners and to share the Gospel with the community.

Consider the miracle of the loaves and fishes. Jesus was unconcerned with the accounting of "two hundred denarii." He simply fed the people. This is what draws people to the priesthood. 

Priests who are active in the community, instead of sitting behind a desk, can do much to grow the Church and attract more people to the priesthood. It should be noted that seeing an overworked priest spend his days behind a desk could be off-putting to many who would otherwise commit their lives to the priesthood. 

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Expanding the use of deacons is also a strong option for addressing the shortage of priests and staffing the Church with trained professionals. Many deacons have experience in the professional realm which they can bring to the service of the Church. This allows them to fill a unique, crucial niche between the laity, the parish priest and the Bishop, to whom they owe their office. Deacons often have an understanding of both the business world and the needs of the Church.  

The value of deacons is tremendous. A doctor who become a deacon can teach about health from a Christian perspective. A lawyer can teach philosophy and apologetics. An accountant can teach parishioners how to manage finances, a salesperson can negotiate on behalf of the parish. The "value added" contribution of a robust diaconate is tremendous. 

Deacons can be married men. if they are married before being ordained. They pledge to remain celibate if their wives predecease them. They are often seasoned, proven members of the parish community. This means they can be trusted, since they have earned their trust by experience. 

The growing transparency of the Church is welcome and refreshing. Sure, it's embarrassing too, but it is also cleansing and healing, much like availing oneself of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. 

A final point for those who might despair. Christ promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against His Church. For two-thousand years, this promise has been well kept, despite some of the best efforts of emperors, kings, and even popes and clergy to destroy it. 

There is no reason to fear the Church, despite its current predicament, will cease to be. We all have faith, but those who despair have faith in the wrong thing; they have faith in the fallibility of man instead of the infallibility of Christ and His Church. 

Recent developments are a step in the right direction.

Let us pray. 

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