In the Midst of Global Catholic Crisis, Look at Whom U.S. Catholic Bishops Choose as Their Leaders

James Tissot's "Jésus Pleura," Brooklyn Museum, New York, Wikimedia Commons

The Catholic church globally is facing the biggest crisis it has faced since the Reformation. This is a deep crisis of credibility, in which increasing numbers of the faithful find it impossible to trust, admire, or follow the pastoral leaders of the Catholic church, and, in growing numbers, even to retain any living connection to the Catholic institution. In the midst of this historic crisis, whom do the chief shepherds of the Catholic church in the U.S., its bishops, choose to be leader of their bishops' conference? Here's an exerpt from a report of Brian Fraga at National Catholic Reporter:

More from Frédéric Martel's In the Closet of the Vatican on the Source of Corruption in the Catholic Church: Not Glitches, but a System

As I keep reading Frédéric Martel's In the Closet of the Vatican, I'd like to say more about the theme of corruption I featured in my last commentary about this book. I noted, pointing to several important passages in Martel's book as documentation, that  much of the corruption in the Catholic church right now is rooted in the historical matrix of the papacy of St. John Paul the Great. The corruption is rooted quite specifically in the following: while hiding homosexual secrets, the powerful Vatican courtiers surrounding John Paul chose to mount war against the queer community, combating its rights, scapegoating LGBT people — especially for the abuse crisis in the church — and targeting theologians calling for compassionate outreach to queer people.

Strange Story from Fort Worth Diocese: Is Public Shaming of Priests Thought to Be Gay What We Can Look Forward to in Wake of McCarrick Story?

How odd that this ‘Open Letter from Young Catholics’ re McCarrick doesn’t once mention the pope under whose watch he was seamlessly promoted. It’s not about what “Pope Francis knew” — McCarrick was long retired by 2013 — but StJPII (1978-2005). https://t.co/d0ZVjj0Zx5

— Austen Ivereigh (@austeni) August 8, 2018

As Austen Ivereigh points out, the "open letter from young Catholics" who are seeking to resurrect the lavender mafia slur of priests in the wake of the McCarrick story (the letter does not use that term, but uses all the buzzwords connected to that slur) does not once mention Saint John Paul the Great, who made McCarrick a cardinal after the Vatican knew McCarrick's story, but focuses, instead, on Pope Francis, stating,

Colleen Baker on Opus Dei's Spin-Doctoring of John Paul II's Record, Father Tom Doyle on What John Paul Knew When

At her Enlightened Catholicism site, Colleen Baker points out that the Vatican spin doctors who are now trying to spin Pope John Paul II's abysmal record vis-a-vis the abuse crisis prior to his canonization (I wrote about this yesterday) are Opus Dei folks: they belong to the powerful, exceptionally wealthy, secretive right-wing Catholic organization that has had increasing influence on the governance of the Catholic church from the papacy of John Paul II forward. Here's Colleen on this:

Short Takes on Week's News: Gay Rights, Canonization of John Paul II, America Magazine and Helen Alvaré, Pope Francis and Bishop Robert Finn

Short takes from this week's news on matters Catholic (with the addition of a report on Peter LaBarbera's appearance at Sinclair Community College): 

National Catholic Reporter Calls for Criminal Investigation of Legion of Christ--"An Agency of Almost Unimaginable Fraud"

National Catholic Reporter's editorial calling for criminal investigation of the Legion of Christ minces no words. An editorial beginning with the following opening sentence is whatever the opposite of word-mincing might be called:

Date Set for Canonizing John Paul II: We Are Church Responds

Pope John Paul II and Father Marcial Maciel

Pope Francis announced yesterday that he Popes John XXIII and John Paul II will be canonized at the same time on 27 April 2014. We Are Church responds:

John Connelly on Pope John Paul II's Legacy of "Repressive Intolerance": Papal Authoritarianism and the Catholic Abuse Crisis

In a review of the complex legacy and complex life of Polish public intellectual Leszek Kolakowski, John Connelly reminds readers of the legacy of the soon-to-be-canonized pope, John Paul II--a legacy of  "repressive intolerance" of anyone who disagreed with him, of "stubborn disregard of critical voices," of a "moral intransigence" that was "theologically threadbare" and often inflicted severe pain on others, in contradiction of what is best about the Catholic pastoral tradition. Connelly writes,

"How Much Filth There Is in the Church": Jason Berry on the Flow of Corrupt Money in the Vatican, with Implications for JPII Canonization

As we continue thinking about and discussing the decision of Pope Francis to continue the plans for canonization of Pope John Paul II, I want to fish another article from my archives here. This is something I posted back in April 2010, which points to the important research of Jason Berry on the financial wheelings and dealings of Fr. Marcial Maciel inside the Vatican. I highly encourage you to read (or re-read) the Berry article to which the posting links. 

Eugene Kennedy on John Paul II's Beatification: The Saint Who Kept Looking Away (A Re-Posting)

I published this piece back in January 2011. With the announcement this past week by Pope Francis that he is moving the canonization of John Paul II forward, Eugene Kennedy's fine statement is on my mind again, and I want to share this item again. Here's what I wrote in 2011:

Eugene Kennedy's reading at National Catholic Reporter this week of what the beatification of John Paul II will signify for many Catholics is thought-provoking.  And, as with everything Kennedy writes, masterfully written.

John Paul's Canonization: Why Many Catholics Dissent

With the recent announcement that the new pope intends to honor his predecessor's decision to fast-track the canonization of that pope's predecessor John Paul II, I'm seeing statements made by various commentators at the time of John Paul's beatification in 2011 resurrected and circulating at various blog sites. Here are some of those, from an April 2011 Guardian article by Tom Kington:

In News: Maciel Legacy and Papacy, Vatican and Violence Against Women, Regnerus Study

In news not unrelated to the papal conclave and the future direction of the Catholic church:

Revelations from Legionaries of Christ Documents in Rhode Island Trial: Implications for Upcoming Papal Election

John Paul II and Father Marcial Maciel

Yesterday, I wrote,

Archbishop Georg Gänswein and Benedict's Fixation on Rehabilitating SSPX, Benedict and Immunity from International Prosecution: What's Going on in the Vatican?!

Follow the Money

To be frank, I am not particularly interested in Vatican chit-chat. It seems far removed from my tiny little life in the miasmatic swamps of Arkansas. And I wonder how anyone can truly know what goes on in the inaccessible miasmatic swamps inside the Vatican. Anyone other than insiders, that is, and everyone who works inside the Vatican takes an oath, as I understand, not to see, hear, or tell.

Droppings from the Catholic Birdcage: "Running the Slur Piece" about Fox News Priest "Beneath Contempt"

National Catholic Reporter does take heat from some Catholics for circulating fact-based stories about how some American Catholics deal with their gay brothers and sisters.  Yesterday, when Dennis Coday linked to a NewsHounds article about Father Jonathan Morris of Fox News in his "Morning Briefing" column, several readers of Coday's column vehemently objected.  

Gerald T. Slevin: Is Pope Leading a New "Children's Crusade" to Help Romney Win?

Another outstanding piece this morning by Jerry Slevin.  In this essay, Jerry sketches the historical and political background to the intervention of the Vatican and the U.S. Catholic hierarchy in the 2012 elections, noting the connection of papal politics (and the politicking of the USCCB) to the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic church.  Jerry's essay follows:

More End-of-Week News: Maciel and John Paul II, Bayard Rustin, and Crisis of Democracy

I apologize that I'm a bit pressed for blogging time today, as I prepare for a day trip to chase down some information for the book on which I've been working--specifically, to see if some distant cousins who grew up with close connections to the book's subject, the 19th-century Arkansas country doctor-cum-philosopher Wilson R. Bachelor, can help identify some old family pictures.  Since I'm preparing to be on the run, I thought I'd post briefly about several articles that interested me when I read them yesterday.

Droppings from the Catholic Birdcage: "A Prophetic Voice Is Needed to Shake People out of Their Moral Lethargy"

Eerie, isn't it, to re-read Legionary of Christ and teacher of moral theology, Father Thomas Williams now, in retrospect, on issues like scandal and shaking folks out of their moral lethargy--now after we know what we know was going on in his own life (and which his superiors knew) even as he uttered these words:*

Chaput Cleaned up the Legionaries, but He Didn't Clean Them up? Please Explain.

Maybe someone can 'splain this to me like I'm a two-year old:

What the Vatican Has Known about Marcial Maciel for Years: Revelations as Benedict Heads to Mexico

And speaking of a dearth of bona fide pastoral leadership at the top levels of the Catholic church (I'm building on what I just posted about the twin bullies Dolan-Donohue), what to make of this breaking news: as Pope Benedict prepares for his trip to Mexico, a new book indicates that the Vatican has known for over 50 years that the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, Marcial Maciel, was a drug addict and pedophile.  For a summary of the story, see the AP article by Nicole Winfield and Eduardo Castillo that appeared yesterday in both Huffington Post and the Washington Post, and Michael Sean Winters's brief commentary at National Catholic Reporter.