Can Faith in the Pope and the Church Be Saved, Michael Valpy, The Globe and Mail, March 29, 2010

Can Faith in the Pope, and the Church, Be Saved?

By Michael Valpy
The Globe and Mail
March 29, 2010

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/can-faith-in-the-pope-and-the-church-be-saved/article1515918/

Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins says he will address the European scandals at a special mass where priests will be asked to recommit to vows of virtuousness.
Photo by Fernando Morales/The Globe and Mail

Benedict XVI risks history’s lasting stain as the pope of a sexually abusive church unless he takes bold steps to steer Roman Catholicism onto a fresh path such as summoning a global council to deal with the problem, says a Canadian scholar who is one of the world’s leading experts on the faith.

Michael Higgins’s issued his warning as Catholic leaders around the world – including members of the Canadian church hierarchy – defended Benedict against what they called unfair attacks and smears against a man they say has been the Vatican’s driving force behind ridding the church of priestly sex predators.

“I just find it so ironic that he who has really belled the cat in these cases, and has actually confronted and dealt with and changed things and made things happen for the whole church, that of all people he should be attacked,” said Archbishop Thomas Collins of Toronto, head of the Canadian church’s largest archdiocese. “Of course if you can attack the Pope, you can hit a home run. But it’s so unfair, so unfair, the Holy Father has done so much.”

Yet as accusations spread across Europe over the past few days that bishops and even Benedict himself protected and covered up for priests who sexually abused youth and children, there were calls from within the church for complete disclosure from leaders of what they knew, and what they did.

The Pope has been alleged in media reports to have known, when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in charge of overseeing Catholic doctrine in the Vatican, about a priest who sexually assaulted scores of deaf children in a Wisconsin school but failed to take action; and who was archbishop of Munich when a priest under his authority was treated for pedophilia and then transferred to a new church where he continued molesting boys.

Speaking to young Catholics from Canada and the U.S. at a weekend retreat in Connecticut, Rev. Thomas Rosica, chief executive of Catholic Salt and Light television in Canada and a member of the Vatican’s international team advising the Pope on communication strategy, said the evidence is conclusive the Pope was blameless in the Wisconsin affair.

But with the case of the German priest, Father Rosica said, “We do not know the facts.

“No matter what transpired, the leader [of the archdiocese] was Cardinal Ratzinger during the initial period of the accusations.

“Serious errors were committed. Admission of this fact is crucial. Forgiveness is sought and then we move forward,” Father Rosica said.

Dr. Higgins, scholar in residence at Connecticut’s Sacred Heart University and former president of two Catholic universities in Canada, said the Pope has shown himself to be more comfortable as a cloistered academic than an effective manager and, unlike his predecessor, John Paul II, has failed to surround himself with strong people who can help steer him through troubled waters. Therefore, he is in danger of allowing the sex scandals to become the defining feature of his papacy.

Perhaps the strongest person John Paul had on his team, Dr. Higgins noted, was Cardinal Ratzinger, known as the Vatican’s Rottweiler when he headed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith? – previously known as the Inquisition and historically the church’s final court of appeal in accusations of apostasy.

Dr. Higgins said Pope Benedict risks having his positive achievements – especially his beautiful and moving encyclicals – forgotten. The church today, Dr. Higgins said, appears as an institution under siege with no evidence of long-term strategy to get beyond the scandals, no strong response to the public, no ability to contain the crisis, and with leaders who speak without much hope.

He said the Pope might be advised to summon an extraordinary synod or assembly of the church’s best minds to examine how the church might restore confidence in itself.

Toronto’s Archbishop Collins said he will address the European scandals in his homily when his priests gather for a special mass – the Mass of Chrism – where they will be asked to recommit themselves to their vows of virtuousness.