Hope for a Troubled Catholic Church?
By Brian Cahill
Amid the fanfare, panoply, rumors and leaks of the upcoming papal election, a New York Times/CBS poll tells us that 7 out of 10 American Catholics believe their bishops are out of touch. While the poll gives high marks to parish priests, it's clear that the bishops' failure of accountability in the child sexual abuse scandal and the weakness of their arguments regarding celibacy, the ordination of women, birth control and same-sex marriage have resulted in a significant loss of moral authority. Just a few examples support the poll findings: Cardinal Roger Mahony, in Rome to vote for a new pope, is trying to tweet his way through the unfolding evidence of his role in the child abuse scandal, telling us that only special training would have equipped him to know what to do when he was told that children were being molested by some of his priests. Cardinal William Levada, in defending Mahony's right to vote in the conclave, declared that "there are some victims groups for whom enough is never enough." Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, who told us after California voters approved Proposition 8, which restricted the definition of marriage to opposite-sex couples, that we should respect the will of the voters, has changed his tune. A week after the 2012 election, in which voters in four states affirmed same-sex marriage, he complained, "People don't understand what marriage is." Recently, Cordileone told a London newspaper that "legislating for the right for people of the same sex to marry is like legalizing male breast feeding." Bishop Robert Vasa in Santa Rosa is requiring his teachers to sign an agreement affirming all church teaching, including birth control and same-sex marriage. Is there a future for our church? Does it matter who the next pope is? Can a real shepherd be elected, given that the majority of electors are party-line appointees, promoted because of their organizational loyalty, comfort with centralized authority and unqualified support of church teachings on birth control, same-sex marriage and the all-male priesthood? Some have given up hope, not in the church as the people of God, but in the church as a discredited monarchy, an institution riddled with hypocrisy, deceit and obsession with power, and when it comes to sexual matters, handicapped by a misinterpretation of Scripture, a flawed understanding of natural law and an outdated theology of sexuality. Many American Catholics, no matter how frustrated they are with the abysmal failings of church leaders, still believe the church is guided by the Holy Spirit. They will join Catholics around the world in praying for that guidance in the upcoming papal conclave. Most will not hold their breath until change comes. But the church does change. It will take time, but one day celibacy will be a gift thoughtfully received rather than a burden thoughtlessly mandated. Women will participate in all aspects and levels of church leadership and ministry. Gays and lesbians will be fully accepted members of our church with no limits on their participation and leadership. Marriage will be for all those, gay or straight, who love each other and commit to each other, because the church finally will consider sexual acts in relation to the good or harm done to the individuals and their relationships, rather than in terms of offending God. It will happen, not just because the Holy Spirit will guide our church, but because the church, with all its flaws, is needed in our world. It will happen, but it will take time. I'll keep praying. Hopefully, our next pope will be someone who will clean up the house a bit, pay some attention to governance, restore a minimum level of transparency and accountability, and refocus on justice and charity, remembering that Jesus talked a lot more about those issues than he did about sex.
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