UNITED STATES
The Week
August 22, 2018
By Rachel Lu
American Catholics are furious. The rage has been building all summer, ever since the news broke concerning the alleged sexual predations of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. Then a Pennsylvania grand jury released evidence of appallingly widespread abuse across six Pennsylvania dioceses, spanning 70 years, bolstering the argument that bishops have functioned for years as enablers, covering things up and playing things down, as known offenders are moved to fresh locations where they can find new victims.
To some, the way forward seems obvious if not easy. The Church needs better bishops. Many Catholic laymen are calling for mass resignations, pointing out that there is a precedent for this. The objective, as some see it, should not be simply to weed out the obviously-guilty-and-corrupt from the episcopacy. Rather, we need to replace our petty bureaucratic functionaries with virtuous and inspired spiritual leaders. Some would like to see the bishops in more populist garb, abandoning their oversized desks and cushy armchairs to preach on street corners and work in soup kitchens.
The appeal of this vision is obvious. But to my mind, a spate of glossy photo spreads — bishops kissing babies, hugging convicts, posing with oversized ladles — is borderline grotesque. After so many years of hypocrisy and posturing, couldn’t we all use a break from that kind of performative piety? I’d be content with uninspired bureaucrat-bishops, so long as they were decent and competent. Unfortunately, even that is starting to seem like a pretty tall order.
If the Catholic laity wish to fix the Church, I recommend three things. First, demand the removal of predatory priests and corrupt bishops. Second, reduce your expectations for those clergy that remain. Third, pick up the slack yourselves.
Catholicism will always need some priests, because it is a sacramental faith. In the 21st century though, it’s mostly going to be the task of Catholic laity to preserve and perpetuate their faith for future generations. Ordained men cannot be expected to do it all, both because they are too compromised, and because they are too few.
Catholic bishops are deeply unsympathetic figures nowadays (for good reason), but we should still appreciate that the expectations placed on them can be fairly ridiculous. In the first place, American dioceses are way too big. In some, the bishop is officially responsible for the spiritual guidance of literally millions of souls. How much oversight can we really expect under those circumstances?
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