The Rot at the Heart of the Roman Catholic Church
The rumors about the priests were always there. The first one I heard said that one of the priests of my parish was a little too close to the rectory housekeeper, although proof was never offered. The rumors accelerated at the all boys prep high school run by the Jesuits that I attended. How many of the rumors were due to boys questioning their own sexual identities versus the priests pursuing theirs remains unclear a quarter century later. I can state for a fact that I was taught by gay priests, but that doesn’t make them pedophiles and given the gravity of the charge I am leery of saying that my high school was some pedophile’s dream. If it was I never saw it, but the rumors never disappeared.
It seems that the Catholic church has been under a cloud of suspicion since Sinead O’Connor stood up on Saturday Night Live on Oct 3, 1992 singing “War” and ripping a photograph of Pope John Paul II on live television. Americans went nuts destroying her records and pretty much ending her career on this side of the Pond. Her motive behind the performance was to protest the Catholic church’s stonewalling of pedophile scandals that were just beginning to surface in O’Connor’s native Ireland. O’Connor took the stage and thought the SNL audience and American public were familiar with the scandals, but she was wrong. It would take nearly a decade before the scandals erupted stateside, costing the church $2 billion in payments, tarnishing its reputation and threatening its existence.
Since then the scandals have continued and now threaten the legitimacy of the current pope Benedict XVI. Documents are surfacing that allege the pontiff as Cardinal in 2001 wrote a directive ordering cases of child molestation be kept secret. Worse, the pope is being accused of shuttling a known pedophile from one parish to another while Archbishop of Munich between 1977 and 1982. The Vatican has asserted that the secrecy directive was nothing more than some bureaucratese that didn’t exclude reporting of pedophiles to the police; a former deputy to the pontiff has fallen on his miter and accepted responsibility for the shuttling of the child molester.
These excuses ring should ring hollow to anyone who is familiar with politics, especially hierarchical non-democratic bureaucratic institutions. First, the directive fits with the Wall of Silence the Roman Catholic church has employed over the decades when faced with accusations of priestly misconduct. Secondly, underlings regularly contact their bosses when they find trouble. It’s basic CYA. This behavior eventually lead to Nixon in Watergate 37 years ago, and it threatens Pope Benedict today. Similar questions could even be raised. What did Benedict known and when did he know it? Luckily for the Pontiff, as the head of a non-democratic sovereign state there is no way for him to be impeached nor even a public inquiry be launched to force the Vatican to divulge its records.
The problem goes way beyond one pope, though. For 1,400 years the church has demanded priestly celibacy. Although couched in Scripture, the likely reason behind this demand was the consolidation of wealth. If priests had children, they would inherit wealth, not the Church. The vow of celibacy was not about sex, it was about the preservation of money and power. For most of its history the vow begot countless bastards, as priests, bishops and even popes ignored it; but from Rome’s viewpoint these illegitimate children didn’t matter. They had no property rights and were therefore not a threat to the Church’s wealth. Things would have continued well had there not arisen an uppity and dour-faced German priest named Martin Luther.
The Protestant Reformation exposed the hypocrisy of the Church’s actions, and ever since the church has struggled to reconcile its teachings with its behavior. Instead of ending the celibacy requirement during the Reformation, the church clung to it and created a culture of secrecy and lies to hide its failures. Such a culture became the perfect ally for men who desired sex with children. This culture would remain if the Pope decreed that those within the holy orders could marry, so repealing the canonical laws demanding a celibate clergy would not end the sexual abuse scandals. I’m not sure how this culture can be destroyed without taking the church with it.
And that’s the problem Roman Catholics face today. Their church has become so rotten over the ages that it is difficult to know where to begin to fix it. As an ex-Catholic and Benedict XVI supporter myself, I am disappointed to learn the truth about the church and its leadership. I long ago turned my back on my religion even though I continue to appreciate the Catholic heritage that has brought great beauty into this world and brought solace and hope to the faithful. But what can the faithful due today to reform their church?
Update: 4/9/2010
A church document bearing then Cardinal Ratzinger’s signature resisting the defrocking of a known child molesting priest.
Watcher of Weasels » Watcher Council Submissions April 7, 2010:
[...] The Razor – The Rot at the Heart of the Roman Catholic Church [...]
7 April 2010, 7:55 amdegu:
‘The problem goes way beyond one pope, though. For 1,400 years the church has demanded priestly celibacy. Although couched in Scripture, the likely reason behind this demand was the consolidation of wealth. If priests had children, they would inherit wealth, not the Church.’
Bull. Shit. Ahistorical rubbish straight from the Jackie Chick ‘Death Cookie’ playbook..celibacy was about the absolute opposite, to keep the Western clergy focused on their duties and away from greed, women and worldly things. The fact that many did not do so has zilch to do with the inherent wisdom of the actual discipline, which nurtured and formed so many great Saints throughout the ages. There’s been plenty of crooked clergy in the East (many of them married) over the centuries, big deal. These are human beings we’re talking about. May as well rename this ‘Rot at the Heart of Humanity.’
I’ll probably just get bitched by wandering ex-catholic internet bandwagoners for saying this, but I don’t care, heard all this kind of crud from the Swaggart and Maureen Dowd types (amusing how extremes often meet). People will think what they think, screw ‘em.
8 April 2010, 1:52 amBookworm Room » Absolute outstanding Watcher’s Council contributions:
[...] The Razor – The Rot at the Heart of the Roman Catholic Church [...]
8 April 2010, 10:58 pmDuchessOfAustin:
I think that both the author and degu are correct. The celibacy rule may have started out as a discipline for the faithful, but it has morphed into a way of keeping the wealth within the church.
9 April 2010, 12:48 pmimmigrantskid:
Fact: a priest in Dallas, TX was sentenced to jail for his sexual misconduct in the early 1980’s. I remember thinking at the time that every bishop in America had better review his personnel records tout suite. Of course, they did not do so.
Fact: reporters don’t know the difference between pedophilia (obsessive sexual desire for pre-puberty children) and homosexual attraction to teen boys.
Fact: reporters also don’t know that the percentage of both of these types of men are the same in the Catholic Church as in secular society as in the teaching world as in Protestant churches as in Boy Scouts. It’s the same percentage, period.
My thoughts: I think this is shocking because even people who hate the church still expect better behavior from her and her people, especially priests and bishops. Also there is a great deal of resentment against this church sticking to its guns on morality and sexuality and the Bible message. It just makes it really hard to enjoy your paganism (Maureen Dowd) when the church you grew up in says NO!
The saddest thing is all the attacks based on half-truths, innuendo, and hatred. But you know what Peter was told: “Upon this rock I build my church and the gates of Hell shall not overcome it.” For over 2000 years, through murder and sexual orgies, through horrible crimes and apostasy, the church has stood.
I found this commentary through Bookworm Room. I’m a little disappointed that you did not do your homework more thoroughly, sir.
9 April 2010, 1:53 pmScott Kirwin:
There is no doubt that anti-catholic bigots like Dowd are using the scandal to tar the Church. But one shouldn’t react to their attacks by defending what has become indefensible.
I want to clarify something. There are two “churches”. The “Church” is the faithful – all believers who accept the Apostle’s Creed and follow the church’s teaching. The “church” is the leadership of the faithful – the Holy See in Rome all the way down to the lowliest priest in a parish in the Yucatan – the institution.
In my view the latter has failed the former: the institution of the church has failed the Faithful. The faithful must hold the institution accountable for the corruption that has become embedded in it over the centuries.
Anti-Catholic bigots ultimately want to destroy the Church. They want to turn the Faithful to their ways – narcissistic secularism in the case of Dowd, protestantism in the case of others. Ex-Catholics like myself do not want to see the faith we were born into destroyed. Even though we do not take sacraments nor believe anymore in its tenets, we value its role in our lives.
Roman Catholicism gave me a conscience that has guided me throughout my life. I credit the Jesuits for teaching me how to think. It gave me some of the most mystical memories, serving Novenas said in Latin as an altar boy where the incense and prayers made for an otherworldly experience.
I respect Bookworm Worm’s post. I even voted for it in my role as member of the Watcher’s council. But the faithful deserve a better leadership – a better “church.” They will not support an institution that is as corrupt and self-preserving as that we have seen over the past few decades around the world.
Roman Catholicism will not be killed by the likes of Dowd; it will be destroyed by the likes of Ratzinger who apparently participated in coverups. Personally I really liked Pope Benedict XVI because he kept Catholicism focused on its core values. However pedophilia is not one of its values and by covering up these cases of child abuse he has lost my support.
9 April 2010, 2:37 pm