Bishop Robert McElroy may have thought he was bringing good news Monday to 330 Roman Catholics attending his first “listening session” on pedophile priests.
McElroy outlined the sensitive way the San Diego diocese responds to sex-abuse reports. He said the “history of abuse is in the past” with no credible accusations against living priests since 2002.
But in the parish hall of Our Mother of Confidence Catholic Church in University City, dozens demanded McElroy explain what his superiors — even Pope Francis — were doing to address the crisis of confidence in the church and clergy. (One even called for a “new leader” in the Vatican.)
“We’re in a terrible wrenching moment in the life of our church,” McElroy confessed at the outset, citing the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report that reignited the worldwide predator priest scandal.
The 64-year-old bishop also noted an explosive 11-page letter by Italy’s Carlo Maria Viganò, a former Vatican envoy to the United States who alleged a cover-up of sex abuse by resigned Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington.
The Viganò letter was “an attack on Pope Francis” and “ideologically charged,” McElroy said.
But the McCarrick scandal even touched McElroy.
Viganò wrote, in that late August letter, that McElroy “was also well aware of McCarrick’s abuses, as can be seen from a letter sent to him by Richard Sipe on July 28, 2016.”
However, McElroy told his audience: “It’s my conviction that nobody was aware of any allegation against Cardinal McCarrick about abuse of a minor until this past summer.”
“No, no,” murmured members of the crowd.
A handful of audience members grilled McElroy on gay clergy (one of Sipe’s top issues). They asked if the Vatican had a homosexual subculture and whether McElroy would allow gay priests.
The former San Francisco auxiliary bishop said gay men could be ordained if they pledged to be “chaste,” or celibate.
“I want LGBT people to feel welcome in our churches,” McElroy declared, saying any discrimination against that community is unacceptable. But he also said he accepted “everything in the catechism” that opposes homosexuality or sex outside marriage between a man and a woman.
McElroy suggested that altar boys were the most vulnerable population because of “proximity” and not gay priests on the prowl.
He said power and domination were bigger factors at work than homosexuality. Another cause: “psychological underdevelopment.”
McElroy’s liberal views have become a lightning rod for conservative websites such as churchmilitant.com, which alleged that McElroy “quickly marginalized” the Rev. Richard Perozich, a former Old Town priest who published a bulletin making clear “Catholics could not vote in good conscience in line with the Democratic Party.”
After the two-hour event, Rancho Bernardo’s Steve Frost, a former IRS man, said homosexuality was the “elephant in the room.”
“I don’t think a homosexual should be allowed in the priesthood,” he said. “I differ night and day with this guy [McElroy].”
Frost, 73, said allowing gay priests around boys was inviting trouble, like “I wouldn’t take my alcoholic brother to a bar.”
Outside the parish hall, Frost added: “I think where the rubber meets the road is it’s all about politics, it’s all about money and power. And power brings in money. … Allegedly McCarrick brought in millions of dollars to the Catholic Church. And money talks.”
Inside the hall, McElroy was urged to demand that U.S. bishops, at a conference in November, take more aggressive steps to deal with the abuse issue.
One bone of contention was whether the laity invited the molestation crisis by putting priests on pedestals.
“Clericalism is such a part of the blindness that let this happen,” McElroy said. “People have too high a view of priests and attribute to them a status that shouldn’t be.”
Asked if he were satisfied with McElroy’s responses, a San Diego man who gave only his first name — Tomas — said he felt the bishop was dodging some questions. He wished McElroy had answered them more fully.
Joe Quiroz of San Diego said: “What I wanted was a spiritual father angry for his children, and I didn’t feel that he embodied that role.”
He said he thought McElroy had a “CEO or politician mind-set.”
Jamie, who also declined to give her last name, said the bishop didn’t give “tangible examples” of future actions to solve the problems.
He’ll have four more chances this week, though.
Listening sessions are set Wednesday at St. Joseph Cathedral auditorium downtown, Thursday at Our Lady of Grace parish center in El Cajon, Friday at St. Charles Catholic Church parish hall on Saturn Boulevard and Saturday at St. Mary Church parish center in El Centro. (All times are 7 p.m. except El Centro at 9 a.m.)
The final three stops — with Maria Olivia Galvan (diocese chancellor) and the Rev. John Hurley as facilitators — are 7 p.m. Oct. 17 at Church of the Nativity parish hall in Rancho Santa Fe, 7 p.m. Oct. 18 at St. Gabriel Church in Poway and 10 a.m. Nov. 5 at the Joan B. Kroc Institute at the University of San Diego.
Full story at The Times of San Diego.
I commend Bishop McElroy for this series of meetings. According to press reports, he welcomed all visitors. Some were pro, some con.
The important thing on sex abuse, in my opinion, is whether new abuse is being reported. The Church should issue at least annual appeals to abuse victims to report it both to the Diocese and civil police. Be proactive.
b
There are two big problems in the church: gays and pro-gay bishops. California has a lot of both.
And you’ve got em in spades in San Jose
He’s worried the corrupt homosexual bishops club is going to be exposed.
It’s hilaraious that so many bishops are having listening tours, like this is the worst it’s going to get and they hope to contain people’s rage with some PR stunts. It’s going to be even funnier when even worse disclosures are made about the church and certain high-ranking bishops and cardinals and their gay network. Then what will all these bishops do? They have already played the “listening session” card, so that’s not going to work again. These bishops think the laity are stupid and can be managed and manipulated. They are acting like politicians who have contempt for the voters but know that’s where the money comes from so they have to make nice in public.
McElroy’s “listening tours”. Isn’t that the same thing Hillary Clinton did every time she ran for office?
It is true that the pedophilia issue has been pretty effectively dealt with. What isn’t settled is the vast, vast issue of infidelity to vows of chastity and celibacy by priests, mostly homosexual. This inevitably leads to an unchaste lay faithful, which is pretty evident. McElroy, if he would ordain men with admitted same sex attraction, is at odds with Francis, let alone every Pope that has preceded him.
https://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/report-pope-francis-affirms-church-practice-against-admitting-gay-men-to-se
The Church…cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders those who practise homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called “gay culture”
Such persons, in fact, find themselves in a situation that gravely hinders them from relating correctly to men and women. One must in no way overlook the negative consequences that can derive from the ordination of persons with deep-seated homosexual tendencies.
Instruction Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocations with regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in view of their Admission to the Seminary and to Holy Orders 2005
Different, however, would be the case in which one were dealing with homosexual tendencies that were only the expression of a transitory problem – for example, that of an adolescence not yet superseded. Nevertheless, such tendencies must be clearly overcome at least three years before ordination to the diaconate.
Same document as above.
McElroy very much misrepresented the Catholic teaching on this. It is not permitted to ordain homosexuals if they promise to be chaste.
McElroy thinks clericalism is when the laity hold priests to high standards. WRONG:
Clericalism is when a priest looks down on the laity and, therefore, operates without their concern or opinion.
McElroy thinks it’s wrong for the laity to have high standards for priests. WRONG: Saint Paul in his letters to Timothy sets a very high standard for bishops and, by extension, priests.
Since Bishop McElroy doesn’t have a grasp of the problem, he won’t be able to provide answers for a way out. He’s irrelevant to the solution.
How can this bishop think he has credibility when more than four of five cases of the abuse of minors involved homosexual priests? And, that is to make no mention of “gay” priests having sex with consenting adults! Grave sins are grave sins, even when they are not crimes. (Unfortunately, I must remain anonymous here since I am a Catholic clergyman and fear retribution from the powerful priests in the homosexual subculture among Catholic priests and bishops.)
McElroy wanted to be Cardinal Archbishop of Washington, D.C. That’s not going to happen anymore.
Let us pray that he goes nowhere else,especially washington dc!
The Body of Christ has a cancer, and it’s called malignant episcopanoma.
The final location for these sessions is appropriately named because he’s giving the people a load of Kroc.
What??!!! What type of ‘Catholic Planet’ is the Cardinal living on? A ‘non Catholic’ Catholic Planet is where he is. Homosexuality has nothing to do with clerical abuse? Oh….and homosexual men should be welcomed into the clergy? That’s akin to exposing an alcoholic to a bar atmosphere on a daily basis. LOL! What’s really infuriating is that he thinks the laity are a bunch of idiots. He needs to step down. He’s going to the beat of another religion….not anything Catholic about it.
McElroy will have an easier time when he shows up at USD on Nov 5th. It will be a crowd more ‘in tune’ with his thinking.
B. McElroy is a mouthpiece for the Vatican. He is wrong on almost everything: (1) homosexuality IS the key issue (rarely pedophilia): (2) no, the Church should never, ever, permit homosexuals to be priests, regardless of promises of chastity; (3) yes, there are ongoing cases of sexual perversion; (4) all homosexual clergy must be laicized; (5) celebrations of homosexual anything (marriage, sex, state of being) are evil; and (6) Francis must answer the Dubia and Abp. Vigano’s simply declarations of perfidious conspiracy in sheltering and advancing homosexual clerics. This is not a garden party to be hosted by evil clerics to cover up their sexual sins.
He needs to be pestered and confronted until he resigns.
This bishop, McElroy, may listen but I don’t think he hears the message the laity wants to impart to our Church leadership. Not that long ago I sent him a 3 page letter on a topic he spoke out about publicly, sharing my views on that topic which specifically addressed his comments. Did I get a thoughtful response? No! Some time later I received a hard paper acknowledgement only. I was disappointed over his lack of social etiquette and professionalism shown to a fellow Catholic. These 8 public meetings are only to look good to the USCCB and the Vatican! So sad!
The biggest issue is “homo-heresy”. That’s homosexuality + heresy. The term “child abuse” is a cover-up of the homosexuality + heresy that has infiltrated the Church. Bella Dodd prompted a big wave of homo-heretics to enter the Catholic Church in the 1930’s. They became bishops + recruited new “generations” of homo-heretics who are now deeply immersed + need to be purged. The elephant in the room is homosexuality.
Absolutely right, Clear Thinking indeed!
Keep on selling them snake oil, Bishop McElroy!
Fr. Paul Mankowski, SJ, 2003, addressing the Long Spring of 2002 in a 2003 speech (“What Went Wrong And Why?”), attributed some of the tepid response to the homosexualism crisis to “Tames”, that is, men who go into the priesthood because they can’t handle life, and so are constitutionally indisposed to deal forthrightly with any unpleasantness. (This on a 31 minute podcast at https://www.cfl-sacramento.org/what-went-wrong-fr-paul-mankowski-sj-2003/ .) The other main reason for inaction is that a bishop may have a few skeletons in his closet, or he may be an active homosexual. But at this late stage, there may be blending of tames, skeleton-squelchers and flamers.
From the article ..McElroy told his audience: “It’s my conviction that nobody was aware of any allegation against Cardinal McCarrick about abuse of a minor until this past summer.”
I believe that McElroy is consciously and deliberately lying.
McElroy demonstartes the sleaziness of a politician and is even part of the “Resistance” movement, and his answers are altogether political now, as he is only trying to retain his position and power as a bishop.
That was all I needed to read as well. McElroy is so full of “it” that it is coming out his ears.
Until recently the pope, cardinals and bishops attempted to refrain from politics. Francis, McElroy, Cupich and Tobin are far more interested in politics than spirituality.
Catholics who are unfortunate enough to have McElroy and the likes of him as their bishops, should follow the advice of Pope Francis who told reporters to “think for themselves and come to their own conclusions”. Do not allow politicians in bishop’s clothing fool you. And do not support these enemies of the Church in any way, especially not financially.
The ‘load of Kroc’ comment, in my mind, borders on a libel of Mrs. Kroc. While she, the widow of the founder of McDonalds, was not of our faith, I understand she was very generous to USD and many other organizations.
who cares
Bishop McElroy has been mentored by Cardinal Mahony for years…..so his behavior is no surprise. He was an excellent student. Time for the vatican to clean house from the top down and for Bishop McElroy to resign. He has done irreparable damage.
The Vatican’s idea of housecleaning is getting rid of all the Holy Priests and laity. They are considered to be the problem in the Church.
However, McElroy told his audience: “It’s my conviction that nobody was aware of any allegation against Cardinal McCarrick about abuse of a minor until this past summer.”
This could be a sincere comment, but it comes from an insincere parsing of the pedophilia scandal and the homosexual one. They don’t tell you which one they are referencing and demure about what they knew and when they knew it. Everyone knew about McCarrick gay lifestyle, but that isn’t what McElroy was talking about, so he’s technically telling the truth.
I was going to add my thoughts to your comments, but I cannot. You laity and Fr. John already have said it all. I heard in person the Mankowski talk. I recommend it.
Thank you for speaking up Anonymous. Very few Catholics know many priests are also victims in one way or another of clergy abuse. The ability to be abused and yet go through w/ordination and then to lead an honorable life is heroic in my opinion. Bless you and all “good” priests everywhere brother. I pray for the “bad” ones.
Miguel at the Maria Goretti Network/MGN (a support network for any and all victims of abuse)