On Scandal & scandals: Respnses to clerical sexual abuse (Main Forum)

I frankly have my doubts that "a new pattern of being Church is emerging". I, frankly, do not yet see the evidence for it.

I'd say that there is clear evidence of the continuing patterns of being a church divided - those who have power and those who are expected to "sit up, shut up and pay up."
The recent conference at the Gregorian University gave all signs of another meaningless talkfest followed by the announcement of a new Center for child protection: Center for child protection (LINK)
and Details of Center (LINK)

Some striking things about that conference and announcement:

• Pope Benedict didn't find it important enough to attend or even visit the conference;
  
• The new Centre for child protection is to have minimal if any participation by laypeople and certainly few parents or others who have relevant practical and personal experience.
  
• This programme will draw on a related public-sponsored programme ... i.e. it is riding on the coat-tails of a project of the German government - it is NOT a church initiative!
  
• Three of the four-member steering committee are clerical academics.
  
• The project is supported by an advisory board consisting of "scientific experts." One of those is Msgr. Charles Scicluna, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. I wonder what is his area of scientific expertise?
  
• The six-person "working group" doesn't appear to have a grey hair between them, nor do the skills or qualifications listed appear to include any relevant personal real-life experience.
  
• There is not a single representative of the victims or their families included.
  
• Various partners are mentioned, but no-one from any english-speaking country (UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Ireland, NZ, S Africa etc) is involved.
  
• Location visitations supposedly to worldwide locations include only South America, Africa and Asia. Again anglophone countries are not mentioned.
  
• Pardon my cynicism..... another clerical smokescreen.

Despite the undeserved golden-glow given to the organisational church's response by Brendan Callaghan SJ, I find his approach a worthwhile contribution.

Brian, I think your comments identify the cancer.

Because of the foregoing I think we are seeing an institution still on the trajectory towards irrelevance in the eyes of the great majority. What Callaghan writes may well be important in shaping the character of whatever phoenix arises from the ashes but it is unlikely to be some stimulus for reform of the present clerical culture that remains the dominant drive in institutional Catholicism.

As many of us have commented, the institution is at the core of the demise of the Catholic Church as such. It needs a phoenix like rebirth. Unfortunately this only happens in mythology.

A medieval institution cannot grow today. It is only the immense wealth, power and influence that the institution has that keeps it in existence. The writing was on the wall at the reformation, Vatican II was convened because change was needed for the catholic church to survive (as distinct from the institution).

The men that control the institution will never relinquish their power; that is their god.

together in the Faith of Christ

Ray

Jim B quoted one of the deep spiritual truths from the article:

I quote:

"Christ has died. Christ is risen. Both are true: both call on us to accept their truth. Without truly believing in his death, we can have no true belief in his resurrection.

"In the resurrection the Father shows us which is the deeper truth: in the light of our confused faith we can learn to look at the world in all its confusion and struggle and sin, and see the signs of the resurrection already at work there. We can look around at our community of faith, at our Church in all its confusion and struggle and sin, and see here the signs of the resurrection.

"Out of the wreck of a defensive, conformist, clerical culture, a new pattern of being Church is emerging.
The cost has been tragic, and if there can be no place for a calculus of horror comparing abuse in different settings, neither is there any place for weighing that tragic cost against what can emerge by way of a renewed Church. But to speak of passion, death and resurrection being inseparable in the paschal shape of what it is to be human is not to attempt such a calculation, but as best I can (as best anyone can who is not directly touched by abuse) to reach into the hidden heart of all this, where our crucified and risen Lord is to be found."

In the Church today, we are experiencing the Paschal Mystery.

"Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again."

This is what we are experiencing in the Church right now.

Christ experienced our human life. In the centuries of teaching formulae of truths, what was lost sight of is the fact that the Paschal Mystery is life experience.

How do we handle this life experience: with faith? with despair? with a mixture of both?

Philippians 2:5-8
New International Version (NIV)

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature[a] God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

Currently, in the Church, we are experiencing what Christ experienced in His "Church" in His Passion, Death and Resurrection: Christ calls on us to experience His Life in actually, here and now, experiencing the darkness of rejection, persecution, death ... and new life of resurrection.

Isn't our celebration of Eucharist the celebration of our oneness with Christ in His Paschal Mystery? Why, our experience of Christ's Death and resurrection has been brought to us as a lived experience as we experience the present, barbaric translation of the prayers at Eucharist.

Peter

Brian, most of the posts on Catholica would be written by Baby Boomers and nobodies family would not have been effected by the hard times our country went through because of WWII .I know some of the horrors my father faced because of the war , but only from his malarial night mares ,they were never encouraged to talk about it after the war.It was passed off as shell shock or battle fatigue. A TV news program showed an old soldier at the grave of his war buddies and you could see in his face and his tears that 60+ plus years later he was still affected by his war experience. These soldiers endured incredible hardships to keep Australia a free
Country and safe country for their loved ones. That the institutional church have been able towreak havoc amongst our children and vulnerable is a slap in the face for our soldiers and citizens Our own A.B admits to a victim coming forward after 80years. The systemic cover up by the institutional church is not only a slap in the face to every Catholic but is a slap in the face and a huge insult to Christ and every thing he stood for. This pseusdo Christian religion would have us believe that they are Closer to god than any one and hat as parents we don’t have the right to protect our own children and that they will lower their standards when they feel they have to do something to keep bums on pews as happened in my parish when a self confessed sodomizer of a sixteen year old was slyly introduced to our parish to say the Easter Liturgies. Fully approved to say mass By the A.B. The V.G. now bishop Tomlinson. George . (Jobs for the Boys)Time for this country to show we have inherited Some of the courage our forbears are famous for and front these abusers of everything Christ stood for . This country still starts its Parliament with the Lords Prayer so lets all ring our politicians and tell them they have our support to bring in Laws to counteract this cancer that has been inflicted on us.
For our Kids sake for our Grand kids sake
For Christs Sake Lets do it.


Cheers Ian Lawther

Thanks for the B>B Roy

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