BishopAccountability.org
	May Crisis Help Catholicism Mature By John J. Donovan Cape Cod Times April 6, 2010 http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100406/OPINION/4060329/-1/NEWSMAP Three separate articles in the March 27 issue of The New York Times intimated that Pope Benedict XVI is a part of the problem and not the solution of his church's sexual abuse problem. Now, three of the four counties comprising the Catholic Diocese of Fall River, which represents 325,000 Catholics, are in the Cape and Islands. That means there are few Catholics living near the reader of this commentary who are not saddened and disappointed, and perhaps embarrassed, by the breadth, width and length of this problem. The problem has now reached the threshold of the pope's office! One hopes Catholics in the pews realize they are not going to get too much local guidance on this one. Even the best parishes are not set up to do or say too much on hot-button issues that take place beyond their borders. It would be unfair, too, it is believed, to expect counsel from a bishop. Bishops are middle managers in the Catholic Church, and they will await a signal from Rome — the current problem area! If the papal letter recently read to the people of Ireland about clerical sexual abuse is any indication, the signal will be so bland that it will only aggravate the situation, not allay it. The situation in the near term will continue to be troubling for us Catholics. In the long term, it could perhaps serve as an impetus for our individual and communal spiritual growth and as a trigger to change the church structure to keep up with our maturity in the faith. In 1968 Pope Paul VI published the encyclical "Humanae Vitae," in which we were told once again that the use of artificial birth control methods is morally wrong. Catholics who were of child-bearing age then remember well the confusion, disappointment and pain of the years immediately following. Some left the church, but those who remained grew spiritually. After prayerful reflection they came to the conclusion that they were the final arbiters of the morality of their actions. Conscience trumped church dictums! Spiritual maturity! What good things are apt to come from the present sadness? Hopefully, a more profound and mature faith, a faith that would once again trigger change in church structures and attitudes. John J. Donovan of Mashpee is a practicing lay Catholic. He has taught theology/religious studies in two Catholic colleges and linguistics in a Protestant seminary.
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