UNITED STATES
America Magazine
Posted at: Friday, April 20, 2012
Author: Tom Beaudoin
Since June 2002 in the printed pages of America magazine and here on its blog (such as, more recently, here and here), I have tried to make occasional theological sense of the unfolding sexual/managerial abuse crisis in the U.S. Catholic Church. As someone who works in the area of practical theology, the lived experience of faith, critically and appreciatively understood, is an important consideration for me in trying to do any theological work.
Reading today’s newspaper made me wonder anew at what Catholicism is facing (or not facing). Like some other commentators, I believe that this scandal is as much about the fundamental terms of the church and theology as it is about problematic “accretions” to an otherwise unproblematic ecclesial-theological substructure.
In today’s New York Times, I read about the testimony of Bishop Michael J. Bransfield, part of the current trial in Philadelphia exploring sexual abuse and coverup at allegedly high levels of the Catholic Church there. According to news coverge, Bishop Bransfield was on the stand refuting claims that he himself was guilty of sexual abuse and that he also knew of abuse by another priest.
Of course, I don’t know what the truth is in this particular case, and as much as anyone, I hope for a fair trial and a just verdict.
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