BishopAccountability.org
	Cult of Personality. . . And/Or Cult of Appearances By Cathleen Kaveny dotCommonweal September 18, 2009 http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/blog/?p=4592 I think it is a mistake to reduce the problem to a cult of personality of Fr. Maciel. that’s a way of dismissing the problem–he’s dead, no more problem. Move along folks–no need to worry about the next group to gain papal favor. I think an equally important factor is the cult of appearances. I can’t tell you how many people told me that the liked the order because they LOOKED holy–by which they meant wholesome. So many clean-cut, handsome priests in soutanes. So many women dressed in Talbots sweater sets, pearls and pumps. So many Christmas -card perfect families. And we now know, of course, that maintaining the appearances was a priority for this group. How could anything that LOOKED so wholesome –so 1950’s –be bad? My own rule: Talbots is fine. Cleancut is fine. But if your standard of appearance would not allow entry to Jesus Christ himself, then you’ve got the wrong standard. It’s a challenge for middle-class people–for me too. That’s one of the reasons I so admire the Catholic Worker movement.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.