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  The Image of the Catholic Church

By Andrew Brown
Guardian
April 9, 2010

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/andrewbrown/2010/apr/09/religion-catholicism-image-ruins-tlhagale

The image of the Catholic Church "is virtually in ruins" according to a prominent archbishop. The story sounds familiar, and I found it, via the Catholic Herald, on the right-wing American Catholic web-site EWTN news. But there was no outrage, and no demand for apology, because the archbishop who said it is himself a Roman Catholic: Buti Tlhagale, of Johannesburg.

At a homily preached yesterday, he said:

"We have betrayed the very Gospel we preach. The Good News we claim to announce sounds so hollow, so devoid of any meaning when matched with our much publicized negative moral behaviour. Many who looked up to priests as their model feel betrayed, ashamed and disappointed. They feel that some priests have "slipped away from the footprints of the Apostles." Trust has been compromised. The halo has been tilted, if not broken. What happens in Ireland or in Germany or America affects us all. It simply means that the misbehaviour of priests in Africa has not been exposed to the same glare of the media as in other parts of the world.

"We must therefore take responsibility for the hurt, the scandals, the pain and the suffering caused by ourselves who claim to be models of good behaviour. The image of the Catholic church is virtually in ruins because of the bad behaviour of its priests, wolves wearing sheep's skin, preying on unsuspecting victims, inflicting irreparable harm, and continuing to do so with impunity. We are slowly but surely bent on destroying the church of God by undermining and tearing apart the faith of lay believers. Ironically, priests have become a stumbling block to the promotion of vocations.

"Bad news spreads like wild fire. I wish I could say that there are only a few bad apples. But the outrage around us suggests that there are more than just a few bad apples."

Here at least is one Archbishop who is not in denial. It is worth noting that his lead in to these reflections was CNN's coverage of the scandal in Ireland and Germany. Though television feels very like old media now, it is still unrivalled in its global reach and ability to define an agenda. It is also important that he appealed to the example of St Francis to overcome the crisis. The history of the Roman Catholic church contains enormous resources for the struggles against corruption, as well as examples of the need for this endless struggle.

 
 

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