The more I hear and the more I think about the present sex scandal in the Church, the more I am convinced that this crisis has four distinct but interwoven threads.
First, the problem of pedophile priests. This atrocity is the most widely recognized piece of the puzzle; but it is also the only one that has been addressed and, to a significant extent, dealt with. If any priest is today molesting a catechism student or an altar boy or girl, he will be quickly exposed and driven out. That is why the Pennsylvania Attorney General report deals almost entirely with past, and not current priests.
Second, the problem of homosexual abuse/recruitment/”grooming” of seminarians and young priests, typified by the scandal of ex-Cardinal “Uncle Ted” McCarrick. The pope’s refusal to even admit the existence of this problem indicates the difficulty of dealing with it.
Third, there is the new gay advocacy, the growing presence and prominence of openly pro-gay priests and bishops, advocating for full acceptance of homosexuality in the Church and world. Father James Martin is only one of the most flamboyant examples. The pope’s readiness to take McCarrick’s advice in appointing bishops like Cupich is yet another.
And fourth, tying them all together, is the ongoing tolerance of misbehavior that the Church has always regarded as mortal sin. The cover-ups and protection of pedophile priests, the veil of silence regarding molesters like McCarrick, and the open encouragement of gay advocates like Martin, are all part of a single disease. The pope’s refusal to address Abp. Vigano’s accusations, along with his track record in South American scandals, suggests that he is, to say the least, unwilling to be part of the solution.
There you have it; four ugly, tangled threads. Much discussion these days is about how to untangle them. But it seems like a better idea to simply grab them all and rip them out of the Church! Or, as Alexander the Great demonstrated with the Gordian Knot, just take a sword to them. Throw the rascals out!
Despite the rhetoric, I don’t know exactly how to do it. Certainly we must pray for Jesus to once again save His Church from the hands of those who are profaning his temple. And we must speak out in some way to let the hierarchy, and the world, know where we stand.
May God help us, as laymen, to find a way to help fix this mess.
O Ben Finiti 