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Cardinal Law’s Destructive Symbolism


A handful of Roman Catholic bishops around the world have now resigned either because of their complicity in covering up clerical sexual abuse or because they themselves abused children and teenagers.

It is now time for Cardinal Bernard Francis Law to hand in his resignation as Archpriest of Rome’s venerable Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. He is a triumphalist symbol of all that is wrong in the contemporary Roman Catholic Church: abusive power that not only goes unpunished but finds institutional embellishment and reinforcement in one of the world’s  oldest of old boys’ clubs.

Cardinal Law was the first bishop shown to have actively participated in the cover-up of child molestation. Despite substantial amounts of documentation that demonstrated Bernard Law’s deep involvement in covering up the molestation of thousands of children by priests in the Archdiocese of Boston, Pope John Paul II appointed him to the comfortable and prestigious position at Santa Maria Maggiore. And incredibly, Law remains an influential churchman. Although he is now 78, the old fellow could still reign in Renaissance splendor for many more years. His predecessor at Maria Maggiore held on until he was 82.

As Patrick Fleming observed in the Tablet (8 May 2010), “Every kind of addict, including the sexual addict who abuses children, requires an enabler to continue in his or her illness.”

Cardinal Law  remains a strong symbol of the abusive enabler. And the institutional church continues to honor and rely on him as a member of the congregations for: the Oriental Churches, the Clergy, Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, Evangelization of Peoples, Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Catholic Education, Bishops as well as the Pontifical Council for the Family.

Some symbol indeed!

Pope Benedict has stressed the need for a “purification” of the church. Well said. But words need reinforcement in concrete action. Otherwise they are little more than “a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”

Posted on by Dr. John A. Dick

A Prayer and A Word for Father Mike


“Father Mike” is not his real name; but he is a very real person. One of my former students, who has now been a Catholic priest for fifteen years. He was a good student: outgoing, exceptionally bright, a likeable and healthy young man. And a zealous young man with deep faith. Nothing goofy or superficial or phony about Mike. For some reason — maybe just the concern of an old professor for one of his star students — I called him last week. I asked him how he was. For a couple minutes we exchanged the normal chit chat. He asked about my wife, and we talked about her as well. Then I said:  “BUT YOU…how are you doing in these upside-down Catholic days?” Silence for a few seconds and then I heard him sobbing. Very unlike Mike. “I’m not doing very well…” he stuttered.

Mike explained that he is now pastor of three parishes. That he thought he could handle, because they are small places in the country. What is destroying him right now however is the innuendo; the stares from parishioners, who are now distancing themselves from him; and the accusations of teenagers in his youth group.

It started last week, at a first communion practice. Parents with whom he has worked — and partied —  for a couple years, protectively held on to their kids when Mike approached them to get them lined up for a procession rehearsal. He said, “it seems that they are now all looking at me and thinking ‘is he one of them too?'” Then he said he thought he was just being paranoid. But then again….. on Sunday evening, he walked into the youth group gathering and found a group huddled in the corner of the room. They fell silent as he walked in. Then one of the high school sophomores called out: “hey Fr. Mike do you get off on kids and teenage boys?”

Now I was about sobbing. Mike — and there are a great many Father Mikes out there — is a very fine and good and healthy and trustworthy priest.

I will give Father Mike all the support I can. I hope readers of this bog will reach out a supportive hand to your Father Mikes. They need us and we need them!

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Right Wing Christians and Tea Party People


The American Tea Party people, and all right wing authoritarians, are dangerous people. They will succeed in their destructive agenda, unless concerned people begin to think, speak-out, and act.  As Führer Hitler is reported to have said: “What good fortune for those in power that people do not think.”

Within the Church as well there is a vocal and militant minority of Tea Party-style Catholics who blindly and unthinkingly follow the orders of authoritarian and regressive “leaders.”

Seven qualities characterize the behavior of such right wing authoritarians. And they are hardly the seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit!

(1) Authoritarian Submission

(2) Fear

(3) Self-Righteousness

(4) Hostility

(5) Lack of critical thinking

(6) Group empowerment

(7) Dogmatism

 

Authoritarian submission:

Tea Party people seem to believe unquestioningly whatever their leaders say. Manipulative right wing authorities such as Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck, and Sarah Palin can proclaim outlandish and utterly false statements; and their followers reverence their every word. They are happy to let others do their thinking for them.

Fear:

The Tea Party people announced that President Obama’s health care proposals would set up “death panels” that would euthanize weak or infirmed Americans like Down’s syndrome babies. And a number of influential American bishops announced that the final heath care legislation would pave the way for more abortions. All untrue. Fear, however, is a convenient way to control people.

Self-Righteousness:

Self-righteousness reigns strongly in authoritarian leaders and followers. Combined with fear, it unleashes powerful aggression. Tea Party people describe themselves as “the good Americans,” “the true Americans,” “the people,” and “the American Patriots.”  Yet they abuse and threaten their “opponents,” and spread malicious gossip about them.

Hostility:

Hatred for “the other” characterizes all right wing authoritarians. It thrives in hate campaigns, demonstrations, and labeling people as “liars,” or “Communists” or “heretics.” Along a rural road in southwest Michigan a sign went up (but didn’t stay up long) shortly after the election of Mr. Obama: “We Used to Hang Niggers — Now We Send Them to Washington!” 

Lack of Critical Thinking:

I am amazed at the number of people who accept, without question, the nonsense that still flows from Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin and other right wing demagogues about Barack Obama: that he is a closet Muslim, that he is a socialist, or that he is not really an American. And we have the ongoing nonsense from some Catholic leaders, who assert that pedophilia is due to homosexuality, that “abused” teenagers themselves had “invited abuse,” or that all children are homosexuals, until they are taught not to be.

Group Empowerment:

Authoritarian followers are highly conforming people. Assembled in a group of like-minded believers, they are more likely to do things, especially aggressive things which they would not ordinarily do alone. So for instance: the lynch mobs and KKK gatherings in the South, angry and fearful people winding each other up, yelling slogans of untruth and deception. We still hear the echoes of one mob refrain: “Obama is a tyrant!”

Dogmatism:

Authoritarians are intrinsically dogmatic. When leaders establish opinions and beliefs for their followers, they are carved in stone. Dogmatic edict and blind obedience and blind faith go hand in hand. Condemnation or death to all “traitors.”

Posted on by Dr. John A. Dick · 2 Comments

Right Wing Christians and Tea Party People


The American Tea Party people, and all right wing authoritarians, are dangerous people. They will succeed in their destructive agenda, unless concerned people begin to think, speak-out, and act.  As Führer Hitler is reported to have said: “What good fortune for those in power that people do not think.”

Within the Church as well there is a vocal and militant minority of Tea Party-style Catholics who blindly and unthinkingly follow the orders of authoritarian and regressive “leaders.”

Seven qualities characterize the behavior of such right wing authoritarians. And they are hardly the seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit!

(1) Authoritarian Submission

(2) Fear

(3) Self-Righteousness

(4) Hostility

(5) Lack of critical thinking

(6) Group empowerment

(7) Dogmatism

 

Authoritarian submission:

Tea Party people seem to believe unquestioningly whatever their leaders say. Manipulative right wing authorities such as Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck, and Sarah Palin can proclaim outlandish and utterly false statements; and their followers reverence their every word. They are happy to let others do their thinking for them.

Fear:

The Tea Party people announced that President Obama’s health care proposals would set up “death panels” that would euthanize weak or infirmed Americans like Down’s syndrome babies. And a number of influential American bishops announced that the final heath care legislation would pave the way for more abortions. All untrue. Fear, however, is a convenient way to control people.

Self-Righteousness:

Self-righteousness reigns strongly in authoritarian leaders and followers. Combined with fear, it unleashes powerful aggression. Tea Party people describe themselves as “the good Americans,” “the true Americans,” “the people,” and “the American Patriots.”  Yet they abuse and threaten their “opponents,” and spread malicious gossip about them.

Hostility:

Hatred for “the other” characterizes all right wing authoritarians. It thrives in hate campaigns, demonstrations, and labeling people as “liars,” or “Communists” or “heretics.” Along a rural road in southwest Michigan a sign went up (but didn’t stay up long) shortly after the election of Mr. Obama: “We Used to Hang Niggers — Now We Send Them to Washington!” 

Lack of Critical Thinking:

I am amazed at the number of people who accept, without question, the nonsense that still flows from Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin and other right wing demagogues about Barack Obama: that he is a closet Muslim, that he is a socialist, or that he is not really an American. And we have the ongoing nonsense from some Catholic leaders, who assert that pedophilia is due to homosexuality, that “abused” teenagers themselves had “invited abuse,” or that all children are homosexuals, until they are taught not to be.

Group Empowerment:

Authoritarian followers are highly conforming people. Assembled in a group of like-minded believers, they are more likely to do things, especially aggressive things which they would not ordinarily do alone. So for instance: the lynch mobs and KKK gatherings in the South, angry and fearful people winding each other up, yelling slogans of untruth and deception. We still hear the echoes of one mob refrain: “Obama is a tyrant!”

Dogmatism:

Authoritarians are intrinsically dogmatic. When leaders establish opinions and beliefs for their followers, they are carved in stone. Dogmatic edict and blind obedience and blind faith go hand in hand. Condemnation or death to all “traitors.”

Posted on by Dr. John A. Dick

Catholic Fundamentalism: Nineteenth Century Authoritarianism


Bob Altemeyer, associate professor in the department of psychology at the University of Manitoba, has written an excellent book on authoritarianism. I find it particularly helpful for understanding the psychological landscape of contemporary Roman Catholic fundamentalism and the Vatican-sponsored regression to a self-serving nineteenth century style Roman Catholic ethos. The book is free and available online. First an excerpt:

Fundamentalists…are highly likely to be authoritarian followers. They are highly submissive to established authority, aggressive in the name of that authority, and conventional to the point of insisting everyone should behave as their authorities decide. They are fearful and self-righteous and have a lot of hostility in them that they readily direct toward various out-groups. They are easily incited, easily led, rather un-inclined to think for themselves, largely impervious to facts and reason, and rely instead on social support to maintain their beliefs.

They bring strong loyalty to their in-groups, have thick-walled, highly compartmentalized minds, use a lot of double standards in their judgments, are surprisingly unprincipled at times, and are often hypocrites. But they are also Teflon-coated when it comes to guilt. They are blind to themselves, ethnocentric and prejudiced, and as closed-minded as they are narrow minded.

They can be woefully uninformed about things they oppose, but they prefer ignorance and want to make others become as ignorant as they…  

You can download the book here:

http://members.shaw.ca/jeanaltemeyer/drbob/TheAuthoritarians.pdf

Posted on by Dr. John A. Dick · 1 Comment

Pedophilia? Archbishop says it’s the fault of those gay kids…….


Archbishop Dadeus Grings, from the Archdiocese of Porto Alegre which is one of the largest dioceses in Brazil,  is living proof that ignorance and just plain stupidity are not affected by the grace of Holy Orders.

Grings has not only linked pedophilia with homosexuality, as did Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone,  but now asserts that pedophilia is understandable because all children are “spontaneously gay.” Great! Now we have a new scapegoat: little gay boys and girls.

The Archbishop, who is also chancellor of the Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, did in fact denounce sexual abuse within the church; but he stressed that internal ecclesiastical  punishment for priests guilty of abuse was sufficient and that the police should not be involved. “For the church to go and accuse its own sons would be a little strange,” Archbishop Grings said a few days ago. Well I guess that makes sense if the real fault lies with all those perverted gay kids.

Showing his alert pastoral concern, Grings said therefore that it is important to help children avoid homosexuality.”We know that the adolescent is spontaneously homosexual. Boys play with boys, girls play with girls….If there is no proper guidance, this sticks. The question is – how are we going to educate our children to use a sexuality that is human and suitable?”

Grings also argued that society’s acceptance of homosexuality is paving the way for an acceptance of pedophilia. Demonstrating insight and a keen sense of social justice, Archbishop Grings noted as well: “Before, the homosexual wasn’t spoken of. He was discriminated against….When we begin to say they have rights, rights to demonstrate publicly, pretty soon, we’ll find the rights of pedophiles.”

Known for his socio-historical awareness, the Archbishop of Porto Alegre argued in 2003 that just one million – and not six million – Jews died in the Holocaust, although a few years later he recanted this opinion. Nevertheless, last year he outraged Jewish groups in Brazil by telling a magazine that “more Catholics than Jews died in the Holocaust, but this isn’t known because Jews control the world’s media.'”

Posted on by Dr. John A. Dick

No Pope No Bishop Among 100 Influential


Time Magazine has announced its 2010 list of  “the 100 most influential people” who shape our world.

Although the Vatican has revved up its PR tactics, Pope Benedict did not make it in any category. In fact no Roman Catholic bishop made it in any category: neither among leaders, nor heroes, nor thinkers, nor leaders in social networking; nor even among artists, although we all know that our pope and bishops are indeed colorful actors.

This American Catholic is delighted to point out however that SISTER Carol Keehan, however DID make the list! Remember Sister Carol? She is the one denounced by so many high-placed US bishops.

I love what Victoria Reggie Kennedy writes in Time about Sister Carol:

Courageous and purposeful, Sister Carol Keehan, 66, is a deeply religious Catholic woman dedicated to carrying out the healing ministry of Jesus Christ on earth. Her leadership of the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA) has been defined by advocacy for the poor and an unwavering respect for human dignity. Her fight to reform health care was an extension of her concern for the most vulnerable in our society and was as integral to the mission of CHA as providing medical services. Undeterred by her critics, she refused to back down as she fought for reforms that would include prenatal and maternity care and coverage for uninsured children. She fought for those who couldn’t fight for themselves.

Leadership is not about doing what’s easy. It’s about doing what’s right. Last March, my husband, Senator Edward Kennedy, said he looked forward to being a foot soldier in the fight for reform and vowed that, this time, we would not fail. Sister Carol was a vital foot soldier in that fight.

And this time, we did not fail.

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The Catholic Church is far larger than the Vatican.


Congratulations as well to Nicholas D. Kristof, writing in the NYT on 1 May 2010:

Maybe the Catholic Church should be turned upside down.

Jesus wasn’t known for pontificating from palaces, covering up scandals, or issuing Paleolithic edicts on social issues. Does anyone think he would have protected clergymen who raped children?

Yet if the top of the church has strayed from its roots, much of its base is still deeply inspiring. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/opinion/02kristof.html?src=me&ref=general

Posted on by Dr. John A. Dick

The Catholic Church is far larger than the Vatican.


Congratulations as well to Nicholas D. Kristof, writing in the NYT on 1 May 2010:

Maybe the Catholic Church should be turned upside down.

Jesus wasn’t known for pontificating from palaces, covering up scandals, or issuing Paleolithic edicts on social issues. Does anyone think he would have protected clergymen who raped children?

Yet if the top of the church has strayed from its roots, much of its base is still deeply inspiring. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/opinion/02kristof.html?src=me&ref=general

Posted on by Dr. John A. Dick

Abuse crisis is actually a hierarchy crisis


Congratulations to the National Catholic Reporter for its editorial on 30 April 2010:

 The sex abuse crisis is not fundamentally about sex. The phrase is a convenient tag that has been applied to a deeper, ongoing problem that, at its core, has to do with power and authority and how it is used in the church.The sex abuse crisis is actually a hierarchy crisis, it is a crisis of a culture that can no longer maintain its superiority by dint of office or by claim of some ontological difference from the rest of humankind. The overwhelming evidence shows that from parish priest to pope, those charged with protecting the community, on hearing that children were being sexually abused, acted first to protect the institutional church.

A central, sad truth runs through the story that has been unraveling for the past 25 years: When the community most needed its leaders to act as pastors they chose instead to act as princes, ignoring the problem all around them while employing every means available to spare the realm.

So….let the reformation begin!