UNITED STATES
The Worthy Adversary (blog)
November 11, 2018
By Joelle Casteix
Spoiler warning: The US Conference of Catholic Bishops is taking us for a bunch of rubes.
The bishops are relying upon two things: 1) the public’s lack of institutional memory; and 2) Catholics’ reliance upon the bishop’s artificial moral authority.
#1 Lack of Institutional Memory
Let’s start with #1. The best way to do this is to compare compare scandals: 2002 and 2018.
The 2002 Catholic clergy sex abuse and cover-up scandal was prompted by the Boston Globe Spotlight exposé and subsequent cover-up scandals nationwide. The 2018 meeting is prompted by the Pennsylvania AG report and subsequent AG investigation announcements across the country.
The bishops are in crisis, pure and simple.
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