AUSTRALIA
MercatorNet
September 3, 2018
By Michael Cook
It has been an extraordinary week in the Catholic Church. The Vatican’s former ambassador to the United States has called for the Pope’s resignation. Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò alleges that Pope Francis covered up for ex-Cardinal McCarrick, who had used his position to seduce seminarians and priests over many years. Catholic media is split down the middle: conservatives support Viganò and attack the Pope; progressives attack Viganò and support the Pope. Some American bishops have defended Viganò as a man of integrity whose allegations ought to be taken seriously; others have dismissed his claims as self-interested grandstanding.
But the crisis has gone beyond claim and counter-claim. Jaw jaw is morphing into war war. There is talk of a schism. Friend and foe are mooting the possibility of major changes in Church governance. Archbishop Charles Chaput, of Philadelphia, has written to the Pope asking him to cancel next month’s synod on youth vocations and focus on the life of bishops.
However, outside the Church, believe it or not, media interest in the controversy is waning. (Check Google Trends.) Surge again it will, but the lull is an opportune moment to review some of the issues which have emerged.
Remember the riots in the Muslim world in 2005 sparked by the publication of Danish cartoons satirizing the Prophet Mohammed? Churches were burned around the world and dozens of people died in a classic case of social panic. Now Catholics are – figuratively speaking – burning their own churches. It’s time to chill.
Here are a few points to bear in mind.
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