Current Issues
Musings on matters of Church….
Recent days have seen new allegations emerge of sexual abuse by clergy in Germany. These come close on the heels of widely reported scandals in Ireland. Any and every allegation of this nature deserves to be treated with seriousness by the Church, and the proper investigations of law enforcement authorities duly assisted.
Every actual case of such abuse represents a grave betrayal not only of the victim himself, but of the Lord, of His Church, and of the Priesthood.
Whatever the truth or otherwise of various allegations, it is clear that for some both within and without the Church, they represent an opportunity to vilify the Church Herself, and especially Christ’s Vicar. In some cases, the outrage that is expressed may be more a cynical exploitation of the victims of abuse, than a true act of solidarity and compassion.
Nevertheless it is vital that to the extent that a real problem has been uncovered, and not merely manufactured, that the Bishops go to the very root causes of the matter in their response. Mere “risk management” is not sufficient. Above all, there needs to be a deepened understanding of the crisis of faith that has afflicted the Church since the 1960’s (especially among the clergy and religious), and its likely connection with the huge increase in allegations of abuse dating from that time. It is sadly noteworthy that while Bishops in many places are responding on a certain level to allegations of sexual abuse by clergy that have been brought forward by the media or the State, they appear to remain relatively unmoved by serious allegations of heterodoxy among the clergy (such allegations being brought forward ‘merely’ by the Faithful, the world being unconcerned by such things!). A truly Catholic approach will be one that is not only natural, but supernatural, in its scope: “Seek first the Kingdom of God, and all these other things will be added unto you.”
…and State.
Recently, the Prime Minister, an apostate Catholic, successfully presented himself for Holy Communion at the North Sydney shrine of Bl. Mary of the Cross (MacKillop). And last Sunday, the Federal Leader of the Opposition (who is supposed to be a practising Catholic) quoted Bill Clinton with approval, saying that abortion should be “legal, safe, and rare…”. As far as I am aware, nothing has been heard from any Bishop in Australia about either incident. In both cases, the lamentable silence of the Bishops makes it is even more important that the laity express their concerns in an appropriate way.
Fr Glen Tattersall