UNITED STATES
Marshfield News Herald

by Oliver Thomas, USATODAY

The United Nations’ scathing denunciation of the Vatican last week over its mishandling of sexual misconduct by priests is symptomatic of a larger credibility crisis for clergy. In a single generation, clergy have gone from being some of our most revered community leaders to some of our most reviled.

Atlanta real estate developer Tom Cousins recalls that when he moved to the city in the late 1950s, he was struck by the fact that three of the 10 most influential people in the city were ministers.

“I thought it spoke well for the city,” he recently told me. Last month’s issue of the popular Georgia Trend magazine identifies the 100 most influential Georgians, and there’s not a minister among them. More telling is that a December Gallup poll found that only 47% of Americans consider clergy to be honest and…