Over the weekend, Pope Francis concluded a Vatican convocation of over 130 bishops from around the world. The topic, abuse of minors by members of the clergy, and the cover up of these incidents by church leadership. The conclusions, hmmm, headscratchingly not much.
On the other hand, the Pope’s laments might have spoken volumes about the church and where it stands in modern society. In short, the Catholic Church is in danger of losing moral authority over its 1.4 billion members, and shockingly, resembles a failing business. Accordingly, the Pope’s message failed to spell out what the future would look like for catholics nor any hints of how the church would get to that future state.
In the Pope’s defense, some pundits said the Pope’s meeting and concluding message were designed to make the world’s catholic bishops aware of the problem and the seriousness of the situation. Under this perspective, one should expect the Pope to roll out in short order more directives and fundamental changes, for example how the clergy are selected and supervised. Given how long the sex abuse situation has been known, this view of the Pope’s intentions is likely wishful thinking.
New York Times columnist, Frank Brunni, commented upon Frédéric Martel’s new book which reports that as much as 80% of catholic clergy were gay. Brunni argued that there was no connection between being gay and being a pedophile. Brunni worries that cliques within the Vatican will target those openly gay priest and drive them into silence. Maybe, but doesn’t that miss the point?
The Catholic Church has spoken loudly about marriage (man and woman), sex only between married couples, and many other rules about regulating a woman’s life. Where does the church get the moral authority to speak on such subjects? How can a hierarchy composed mostly of homosexuals (and all males) speak knowingly about the real world?
Pedophilia is not a condition tied solely to homosexuals. Sexual abuse is not limited solely to pedophilia either. Sexual harassment and abuse are much more about power and how one handles power in relation to others.
The Catholic Church would do well to look how the leadership selects and supervises its clergy. Why would there be such a high percentage of gay members? What would cause Bishops and Cardinals to cover up abuse and harassment?
Why shouldn’t the priesthood look like the world around (a mix of race, gender, and gender orientation)? The Church might benefit from far more listening and a lot less talking about suspect dogma. Keeping bad news from the boss is not a characteristic inherent in homosexuality, but is rather a conditioned reflex learned by an organization from the behavior superiors display when confronted with bad news.
The Pope could have said so much more.