The following is by Most Rev. Michael C. Barber, SJ:
Many Catholics have had their faith shaken by the recent revelations in Pennsylvania, the scandalous behavior of an American cardinal and the recent letter from the former Apostolic Nuncio to the United States.
I’ve been in the Navy Reserve for 27 years. Every year about 50 admirals, generals and commanding officers of ships and bases are removed for misbehavior, ethical violations, criminal activity or “loss of confidence in ability to command.”
Yet we do not dismiss all commanders as criminal. One of my duties as chaplain is to visit the brig: the “jail” on a ship or Navy base.
Many of the prisoners are serving sentences for child abuse in their own families. Yet we do not say all sailors and Marines are abusers. We don’t say the Navy and Marine Corps is evil.
So too in the Church. The majority of our priests serve you faithfully every day in every parish in our dioceses.
The difference between the military and the church is that the military has a good accountability system. The Church does not. And we need to fix that now.
I endorse the call of Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, president of the US bishops, to the Holy Father to establish an independent, lay-led review board that will address complaints against bishops.
In regards to the scandal of Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick and the revelations of Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, we need such a board or commission to find the truth.
Perhaps this could be the existing National Review Board. Whatever group is set up, it needs to find out “who knew what, and when did they know it?”
They need access to all the relevant documents, most of which are protected as “Papal Secrets.” They need to interview priests who worked in the Roman Curia and U.S. diocesan offices, who also would be released from the “Papal Secret” and allowed to testify.
We need to find out the truth. Only the truth will set us free. And only the pope can authorize the steps that need to be taken to find the truth.
But there is action I can take as bishop of our diocese.
In Oakland, I am calling for an independent outside audit of our Diocesan Review Board policies, to ensure we are faithfully following the precepts of the Dallas Charter, the procedures to investigate sexual abuse by clergy. I also am going to review the membership of the current Diocesan Review Board to make sure it has the number of lay experts we need in the fields of law enforcement, the judiciary, parents, and clinical professional specializing in treatment of childhood trauma and survivors.
In addition to these actions, I am inviting all priests, religious and lay faithful of the diocese to join me in a Novena to St. Joseph, patron of the Universal Church, from Sept. 6-14. We will distribute a Novena prayer to be read at all Masses every day.
On Sept. 14, the Feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross, I call all of us in the diocese to a Day of Prayer, Penance and Reparation for the sins members of the Church have committed against innocent children.
I ask our priests to hold a Holy Hour with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in each parish at a convenient time, to pray in reparation, for healing for the victims, and for the cleansing and reform of the Church and her ministers.
I invite us all to do penance that day, especially my brother priests: to fast and make other personal sacrifices in reparation for the pain suffered by the innocent. As Pope Francis said in his “Letter to the People of God”: “The penitential dimension of fasting and prayer will help us as God’s People to come before the Lord and our wounded brothers and sisters as sinners imploring forgiveness and the grace of shame and conversion.”
In addition, I have been receiving many letters and emails asking me to stand up for the truth and not be afraid to speak out in front of all the bishops on the need for reform. May I also ask you to pray for this intention in the novena and day of reparation?
Full story at The Catholic Voice.
I think Bishop Barber is heading in the correct direction. Only an independent LAY LED board will have the necessary credibility to take appropriate action where proven facts so require. The Bishops, as a whole, have zero credibility in this area.
If the Bishops do nothing, and more ‘dirt’ emerges, the trickle of those voting with their feet will turn into a torrent. Former Catholics may become the largest religious group in the country.
Mike M … I agree … The key word here is “independant.” Bishops can’t have the ability to dissolve the boards and they need to have complete access to church files. I believe it’s also necessery that they have their own legal counsel who is not also the diocesan’s lawyer.
According to the Catholic Catechism, as presented in the New Advent website chapter on the Laity (https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08748a.htm), “…. The laity are incapable, if not by Divine law at least by canon law, of real jurisdiction in the Church, according to chap. x, “De constit.” (lib. I. tit. ii): “Attendentes quod laicis etiam religiosis super ecclesiis et personis ecclesiasticis nulla sit atributa facultas, quos obsequendi manet necessitas non auctoritas imperandi”, i.e., the laity have no authority over things or persons ecclesiastical; it is their duty to obey not to command. Therefore no official acts requiring real ecclesiastical jurisdiction can be properly performed by the laity; if performed by them, they are null and…
Anon … Civil law changes with times. We no longer, for example, imprison debtors or burn people at the stake. So can Canon Law be change and, in this regard, it should.
Mike,
The bishops may not have a choice anyway. New York State is launching an investigation on its own:
https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/n.y.-attorney-general-investigates-all-catholic-dioceses
If not voluntary, bishops may be forced.
As for Catholics considering leaving, all that they need to remember is that the Catholic Church (including Eastern Catholic Churches) are the only churches that administer valid and licit Sacraments.
Better to attend Mass and obtain the Sacraments at, say, a Maronite or Byzantine Catholic Church if they have a problem with the Roman Catholic Church.
Mike,
As a follow-up on the New York State attorney general launching a criminal investigation, the attorney general is doing the same:
https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/nj-announces-criminal-probe-into-church-sex-abuse
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen..
“Papal secrets” that prevent people from testifying to crimes and grave sins they know of?! And, diocesan offices have the same?! Lord, have mercy! I’m appalled as a Christian and as one whose profession includes criminal investigations. I find I’m usually respected wearing my Fire Dept. uniform. I think Navy and Marine officers, mentioned by the bishop, also feel the same way. Maybe it’s because we do have accountability among our ranks. God bless Bishop Barber! Let’s all pray for him!
Here is a version of “company punishment” which will motivate the Holy See. Now, the Church will feel effects of the inactions of a few:
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-catholic-ceos-group-legatus-withholds-vatican-tithe-cites-recent-r
What people most need to do is shout at Pope Francis when he speaks in public, like that guy did to Cardinal Wuerl. Shout at him. Ridicule him. Shame him. Don’t let up until he resigns or releases relevant documents. Badger him and pester him and heckle him until he answers questions or resigns. He’ll soon stop appearing in public. Imagine if whole crowds or large portions simply chanted, “Vigano! Vigano! Vigano!” every time the Pope appeared, drowning out anything he tried to say and getting explosive media coverage. The Pope would be rendered impotent to do anything except resign because he would be seen as having lost all legitimacy, which he has.
What “Sick” is suggesting is NOT right, not correct. The traditional and proper stance of any Catholic with respect to the Pope is reverence, especially when nothing has yet been proven against the Holy Father. To ridicule and shame him as “Sick” wants is truly sick and unjust. People, including “Sick” may I remind you that this is the man that the Holy Spirit has chosen to sit on Peter’s throne. If you reject Francis, then you reject Christ; and if you reject Christ, you reject the Father Who sent Him.
A clearer, more concise statement of papolatry you will not find. Thank you for that.
You don’t realize the extent, breadth, height of the corruption. You don’t realize the damage to the church caused by it. You don’t realize the hierarchy won’t reform themselves without angry pressure from the laity. No more with the reverence and kid gloves. It’s time to resist and oppose corruption and those who are responsible for it, no matter what their rank. Christ would be turning over tables in the Vatican and making a whip out of a cincture, not kissing corrupt prelate’s rings.
we need facts, not salacious or malicious gossip.
In college I spent a lot of time defending Pope John Paul II over his teachings on abortion and, especially, gay rights. “How can you call yourself a lesbian when blah, blah blah ..” Now, with the jury still out Sick is attacking the Holy Father. We often hear “the Church is not a democracy.” Now we have a suggustion we make it a mobocracy.
It is a homosexual abuse mobocracy.
C&H lets be clear if it was Benedict on the throne you and the rest of Left would have torn him to pieces by now. But because he is a fellow leftist you and the Left urge restraint and calm. The Pope’s silence condemns him, he is a coward.
It is not the teaching of the Catholic Church that the Holy Ghost inspires the elections of popes. Where does this idea come from? Even a cursory study of the history of the papacy demonstrates that there were popes who indeed needed to be shouted at. Pope John XII readily comes to mind. Are you aware of the things that we as Catholics admit he did? If not, read and learn. Sergius III comes to mind as well. There are numerous others. I would suggest picking up a copy of The Oxford Dictionary of Popes by Anglican (but pro-Catholic) J.N.D. Kelly.
Realistically, what else can the laity do? Write letters? Pray? If Pope Francis is allowed to ignore the charges made against him, just wait them out, let them pass, how does that help the Church? I for one can’t respect the leader of the church anymore until he addresses the allegations concretely.
These are allegations, not charges. and yes, you should pray. Ask for what you want.
And the leader of the Catholic Church is Jesus Christ, who said about the bad religious leaders of His own time:
“Do what they tell you, but don’t be like them.”
Regarding the idea of “no proof”; Vigano is a witness to the conversation he had in 2013 with the Holy Father concerning Cardinal McCarrick. Therefore his statement constitutes first-hand testimony and can be considered “evidence.” Naturally, we can and should look for corroboration. But if a witness testifies in court that he saw the defendant commit the crime, that can often be enough to convict. What may be decisive here, though, is Francis’ refusal to assert innocence. In court, a plea of “no contest” results in automatic conviction and sentencing without trial.
He’s doing the same thing Jesus did. Jesus was convicted when He was Innocent.
Allowing for the truth of Vigano’s statement, we don’t know what happened next. Could someone else have convinced the Pope that Vigano was incorrect or malicious? We know the Pope does not like gossip. What if he called McCarrick and McCarrick said, “I have repented and I am now impotent in my old age, so I could not commit this sin if I tried.”?
We don’t know. I don’t think Vigano knew about the allegations of sexual harassment of minors so the Pope wouldn’t have been told that.
“Could someone else have convinced the Pope that Vigano was incorrect or malicious?” Not a chance, since McCarrick’s depravities were common knowledge within the hierarchy. Regardless of whether he was contrite, McCarrick should never have been given honor assignments. As for Jesus, we are not the Sanhedrin. The Lord was in a unique situation, in that he was technically guilty of the charge–claiming equality with God. The Pharisees were not prepared to admit the possibility that he in fact was who he claimed to be, and it is never wrong to claim to be who you are. So, the defense of the claim being accurate was not afforded to him. So, if you say you’re God, you’re a blasphemer. As you’ll recall, the trial ended when he effectively…
But wouldn’t the Lavender mafia lie for him? Isn’t this what the whole letter is about?
That would be a bad Idea
What do you suggest instead? You think that by ignoring it or being silent about it things will get better on their own? Would you tell an abused wife not to fight back, not to defend herself? Just to be quite and take the abuse?
God bless you always, Bishop Barber!
You need to ask all people who had any sexual encounter with a priest, deacon or employee (spouses excepted) to come forward even if it was consensual.
How can we trust any priest with our children if the church allows openly homosexual priests to remain? We shouldn’t wait until he abuses a child. Those priests should be defrocked. They abuse their office and no parishioner wants to support their indulgent lifestyle. We should not give money to any diocese that doesn’t have the decency to protect their flock. It is disgusting. God have mercy.
You can’t. You have to tell your kids that there’s a 50% chance or more that the man of God they are told to respect is a sex pervert and to avoid being alone with him.
The problem with ‘Lay’ people investigating is the same as at ‘catholic’ colleges – Far Far too many are outright Anti-Catholic and work diligently to Undermine the Church and its Wise Moral Teachings, such as the Objectively Disordered nature of Homosex Behaviors
Appointing the type of Far Left ‘social justice warriors’ who infest allegedly ‘catholic’ education and similar positions, would only compound the harm done by Homosex Ephebophiles infiltrating the Priesthood.
Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes
Who Guards the Guards?
Michael,
Your point is well-taken. No would have to “guard the guards” if the guards themselves were credible and trustworthy at the outset.
Michael, it is nice to see that you are still around.
God bless you, Bp. Barber …. but for every brave & faithful sheppard like this, there is another corrupted one who is fighting with all his might to keep the truth from being exposed: I’m looking at you, Bp. McElroy!
For the protection of their flock, bishops need to identify the active sodomists in their dioceses … and defrock/laicize them.
But how to identify (and remove) active sodomist bishops…?
Lord, send us a saint to cleanse and purify your Holy Church!
How about an intense, worldwide “spiritual bouquet” program, for a long period of time– of large Rosary processions, Adoration, and unceasing prayers and penance- and a very large number of Catholics promising and giving their signatures, to participate in this long and very large, worldwide “spiritual bouquet” program– until the Pope and his leading prelates give up, and set things right in the Church– no more criminal clergy sex abuse cases!! No more homosexual “Lavender Mafia” in the Vatican offices, in the priesthood, and in our seminaries!! Millions of heartfelt, devoted “Totus Tuus” Consecrations to Our Lady! Surely God would listen, and reward this kind of persistent spiritual effort!