The publication of the McCarrick Report was a welcome step by the Holy See. It answers some questions raised by the appallingly successful ecclesiastical career of a now-defrocked cardinal, long known by many to be a sexual predator who used his authority to gain access to young male victims. A closer study of the Introduction … Read more
Fr. Martin’s extended project is to change the way the Church approaches the phenomenon of homosexuality in our Church and in our society. Fr. James Martin, S.J. has been in the news again this past week, after several bishops from the American Southwest reported that, during their ad limina visit, Pope Francis expressed displeasure about … Read more
In his 1967 classic defense of the Catholic Faith against modern errors, Trojan Horse in the City of God, Dietrich von Hildebrand wrote: “With a religion the only question that can matter is whether or not it is true. The question of whether or not it fits into the mentality of an epoch cannot play any … Read more
The news that the Holy See will publish the results of the internal investigation of files related to former cardinal Theodore McCarrick is welcome indeed. Cardinal Seán O’Malley informed the American bishops at their annual fall meeting that “[t]he intention is to publish the Holy See’s response soon, if not before Christmas, soon in the … Read more
The first anniversary of the Testimony of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò is upon us today. That document, and the events that followed this bombshell, say a great deal about the crisis now facing the Church. It’s a crisis of truth, of grave immorality and cowardice, of unaccountability by Church hierarchs, of powerful clerics resisting revelation of … Read more
It has now been one year since the Archdiocese of New York announced that it had received a credible accusation that the retired Archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, had, as a priest, sexually abused a high school seminarian in the basement of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. This stunning revelation led to a series of further … Read more
Last week, Pope Francis issued new canonical norms to deal with the plague of the sexual abuse of minors and adults by clerics and religious. His motu proprio “You are the light of the World” (Vos estis lux mundi) establishes new provisions to deal with the questions of how crimes against the Sixth Commandment are … Read more
One aspect of getting older, and wiser, is the shedding of once comforting, but in fact naïve illusions about individuals or groups. We normally trust that certain people and groups who profess to carry out a particular and demanding mission in society are in fact going to do just that. Past performance, as far as … Read more
I have been asked over and over again by lay Catholics: “What can I do to help resolve the crisis in the Church?” My answer is: “Pray and act.” By action, I mean: make known your dissatisfaction to the American bishops, to the Holy See, and to your fellow Catholics. Prayer is all-powerful. God wants … Read more
