UNITED STATES
Christian Catholicism
Jerry Slevin
A bold Australian priest, noting in the UK Tablet that Catholics are humiliated by priests’ sins being revealed at the Royal Commission, has acknowledged “It’s hard being a Catholic today; it’s hard being a Catholic priest today…”. Fr. Peter Daly sadly adds, “Indeed, such is the extent of the crisis that in some circles priest and paedophile have become interchangeable words.”
The head of the Australian bishops conference, Archbishop Philip Wilson, is under indictment with an alleged priest child abuse cover up charge, while Australia’s lone cardinal, George Pell, shamefully publicly threatens legal action against an abuse survivor, Peter Saunders, selected by the pope to advise him. What a mess!
Daly’s prohetic, and yet perceptive and sensible, if not urgent suggestion, is (in italics): ” … I suggest, then, that our Pope consider convening an Ecumenical Council of the Church – Vatican III – in which the “hired men” culture is addressed and called to account, victims are afforded a voice, a collective wisdom is given room to breathe and act, and the “feminine genius”, the voice of women, is given a central role.
It is better for a man, for a church, to roam the streets destitute, foraging for the bread of truth, than to roam the corridors of power feasting on privileges and food that does not last. Ours is a profound responsibility: to humbly and gently walk alongside others, especially the most vulnerable, no matter the cost. …”
That’s what it means to be a truly Catholic Church.”
Pope Francis likely knows well by now that his current Vatican reform strategy needs some major redirection. The pope’s (1) well publicized Curia shaming and reshuffling, (2) limited financial management makeover, (3) clerically dominated Family Synods, and (4) slow moving abuse commission, as presently structured, cannot likely stop the Catholic Church from sinking further and faster in the escalating tsunami of scandals. That seems clear enough.
Moreover, the pope has yet even to address publicly the most needed structural “fix” — establishing transparent procedures for the selection and oversight of the 0.01% Church leadership by the worldwide Catholic 99.9% faithful. As presently planned, the Final Synod will not even discuss this key reform, which is absolutely required to avoid more scandals under future popes.
Importantly, informed Vatican journalist, Robert Mickens, had recently reported on a “rumor” that some experts at pontifical universities in Rome have been “asked to quietly prepare preliminary documents for an ecumenical council to be called during or after the 2015 Synod.”
While Mickens understandably appeared skeptical, this rumor makes a lot of sense. Pope Francis may have no strategic choice at his Final Synod in four months but to call in for a full ecumenical council, as Pope John XXIII did over half a century ago, to keep Francis’ reform effort alive as he begins his eightieth year. After the flawed Synods, a council with a broad and representative participation of lay Catholics, female and male, will likely be Pope Francis’ final chance to save the Catholic Church and to compel his successor to follow Francis’ lead. It is also how the Catholic Church resolved many earlier crises.
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