Posted on by Dr. John Alonzo Dick

Remedial Sex Education for Bishops


During his visit to Fatima, Pope Benedict observed: “In recent years the anthropological, cultural, social and religious framework of humanity has changed.” So has our understanding of human sexuality, but Benedict didn’t say that. I wish he had.

The Roman Catholic hierarchy — in response to the signs of the times — is in urgent need of some sex ed continuing education.

I suggest some intensive courses in remedial sexual education. I would start with the Pope, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone (of pedophilia is due to homosexuality, fame) and the Vatican Curia.

Simultaneously, since it is good that the top men in the church all get the good news at the same time, I would have an intensive course for Cardinal William Levada and his staff at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. There would have to be as well some very special classes for Archbishop Raymond Burke and his staff at the Apostolic Signatura. Burke, you remember, is the fellow who regularly denounces President Obama as anti-life and anti-marriage; but that is a matter for a future blog. And last but not least there would have to be a special course for Cardinal Angelo Sodano (the sex abuse is just “petty gossip” cardinal) and the entire College of Cardinals.

After the remedial education of the top men at Vatican headquarters we could move on to national conferences of Catholic bishops……. This could be done, in close-collaboration with some of our best universities. It would be  like a special jubilee, guaranteed to unlock many closeted doors: a one year sexual updating/education/formation program for all Roman Catholic bishops.

We had the Year of the Priest. I propose a Remedial Sex Ed Year for Bishops.

There would be three main segments in the education/formation program:

(1)   Episcopal Sex Ed 101: Basic Principles that were Never Learned.

(2)   Episcopal Sex Ed 201: Bishops Confront their Own Sexuality

(3)   Episcopal Sex Ed 301: Special Ed for the Hopelessly Mixed-up

More about this in postings this week……….

Posted on by Dr. John Alonzo Dick · 2 Comments

Active Reform Now: A Catholic Bill of Rights


All genuine reform must be solidly based on realistic expectations.

ARCC – The Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church — is setting up a network of active reformers across the country. Their goal is to protect and defend the rights of Catholics in the church and their action is grounded in a Catholic bill of rights. They do not replace other reform movements. They support and provide substantial grounding for all reform movements. Their focus however is uniquely based on CATHOLIC RIGHTS. For more information and to join ARCC:

http://arcc-catholic-rights.net/

Basic Catholic Rights

 

No. 1. All Catholics have the right to follow their informed consciences in all matters. (C. 748.1)

No. 2. Officers of the Church have the right to teach on matters both of private and public morality only after wide consultation with the faithful prior to the formulation of the teaching.4 (C. 212, C. 747, C. 749, C. 752, C. 774.1)

No. 3. All Catholics have the right to engage in any activity which does not infringe on the rights of others, e.g., they have the right to freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of association. (C. 212:2,3, C. 215, C. 223:1)

No. 4. All Catholics have the right of access to all information possessed by Church authorities concerning the former’s spiritual and temporal welfare, provided such access does not infringe on the rights of others. (C. 218, C. 221:1,2,3, C. 223:1, C. 537)

Decision-making and Dissent

No. 5. All Catholics have the right to a voice in all decisions that affect them, including the choosing of their leaders. (C. 212:3)

No. 6. All Catholics have the right to have their leaders accountable to them. (C. 492, C. 1287.2)

No. 7. All Catholics have the right to form voluntary associations to pursue Catholic aims including the right to worship together; such associations have the right to decide on their own rules of governance. (C. 215, C. 299, C. 300, C. 305, C. 309)

No. 8. All Catholics have the right to express publicly their dissent in regard to decisions made by Church authorities. (C. 212:3, C. 218, C. 753)

Due Process

No. 9. All Catholics have the right to be dealt with according to commonly accepted norms of fair administrative and judicial procedures without undue delay. (C. 221:1,2,3, C. 223, 1,2)

No. 10. All Catholics have the right to redress of grievances through regular procedures of law. (C. 221:1,2,3, C. 223:1,2)

No. 11. All Catholics have the right not to have their good reputations impugned or their privacy violated. (C. 220)

Ministries and Spirituality

No. 12. All Catholics have the right to receive from the Church those ministries which are needed for the living of a fully Christian life, including:

 a) Instruction in the Catholic tradition and the presentation of moral teaching in a way that promotes the helpfulness and relevance of Christian values to contemporary life. (C.229:1,2)

 b) Worship which reflects the joys and concerns of the gathered community and instructs and inspires it. c) Pastoral counseling that applies with love and effectiveness the Christian heritage to persons in particular situations. (C. 213, C. 217)

No. 13. All Catholics have the right, while being mindful of Gospel norms, to follow whatever paths will enhance their life in Christ (i.e., their self-realization as unique human beings created by God). They also have the right to guidance that will foster authentic human living both on a personal level and in relation to their communities and the world. (C. 213)

No. 14. All Catholics have the right to follow the customs and laws of the rite of their choice and to worship accordingly. (C. 214)

No. 15. All Catholics, regardless of race, age, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, state-of-life, or social position have the right to receive all the sacraments for which they are adequately prepared. (C. 213, C. 843:1)

No. 16. All Catholics, regardless of canonical status (lay or clerical), sex or sexual orientation, have the right to exercise all ministries in the Church for which they are adequately prepared, according to the needs and with the approval of the community. (C. 225:1, C. 274:1, C. 1024)

No. 17. All Catholics have the right to have Church office- holders foster a sense of community. (C. 369, C. 515)

No. 18. Office-holders in the Church have the right to proper training and fair financial support for the exercise of their offices, as well as the requisite respect and liberty needed for the proper exercise thereof. (C. 231:2, C. 281)

No. 19. All Catholics have the right to expect all office- holders in the Church to be properly trained and to continue their education throughout their term of office. (C. 217, C. 231:1, C. 232, C. 279, C. 819)

No. 20. Catholic teachers of theology have a right to responsible academic freedom. The acceptability of their teaching is to be judged in dialogue with their peers, keeping in mind the legitimacy of responsible dissent and pluralism of belief. (C. 212:1, C. 218, C. 750, C. 752, C. 754, C. 279:1, C. 810, C. 812)

Social and Cultural Rights

No. 21. All Catholics have the right to freedom in political matters. (C. 227)

No. 22. All Catholics have the right to follow their informed consciences in working for justice and peace in the world. (C. 225:2)

No. 23. All employees of the Church have the right to decent working conditions and just wages. They also have the right not to have their employment terminated without due process. (C. 231:2)

No. 24. All Catholics have the right to exercise their artistic and cultural talents without interference (e.g., censorship) from Church authorities; likewise all Catholics have the right freely to enjoy the fruits of the arts and culture.

States of Life

No. 25. All Catholics have the right to choose their state in life; this includes the right to marry and the right to embrace celibacy.

No. 26. All Catholic women have an equal right with men to the resources and the exercise of all the powers of the Church.

No. 27. All Catholics have the right to expect that the resources of the Church be fairly expended on their behalf without prejudice to race, age, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, state-of-life, or social position. a) All Catholic parents have the right to expect, where needed, fair material and other assistance from Church authorities in the religious education of their children. b) All single Catholics have the right to expect that the resources of the Church be fairly expended on their behalf.

No. 28. All married Catholics have the right to determine in conscience the size of their families and the appropriate methods of family planning.

No. 29. All Catholic parents have the right to see to the education of their children in all areas of life. (C. 226:2)

No. 30. All married Catholics have the right to withdraw from a marriage which has irretrievably broken down. All such Catholics retain the radical right to remarry.

No. 31. All Catholics who are divorced and remarried and who are in conscience reconciled to the Church have the right to the same ministries, including all sacraments, as do other Catholics.

Language

No. 32. All Catholics have the right to expect that Church documents and materials will avoid sexist language, and that symbols and imagery of God will not be exclusively masculine.

Posted on by Dr. John Alonzo Dick · 1 Comment

Naughty Popes and Papal Sin…From the Good Old Days!


The good old days of the Roman papacy were occasionally rather dreadful. More than a few Pontifex Maximus rotten apples in the old Vatican barrel.

 

Pope Sergius III

We need lots of reforms today — BUT, all things considered, the papacy today is in much better shape. 🙂 

A friend in Rome has called attention to “The Vatican Hall of Shame” by Tony Perrottet. A few anecdotal historical snippets:

POPE SERGIUS  III (904-11), known by his cardinals as “the slave of every vice,” came to power after murdering his predecessor. He had a son with his teenage mistress — the prostitute Marozia, 30 years his junior — and their illegitimate son grew up to become the next pope!

POPE BENEDICT  IX, (1032-48) continually shocked even his most hardened cardinals by debauching young boys in the Lateran Palace.

After massacring the entire population in the Italian town of Palestrina, POPE BONIFACE VIII (1294-1303) indulged in sex games with a married woman and her daughter and was renowned throughout Rome as a shameless pedophile. He famously declared that having sex with young boys was no more a sin than rubbing one hand against the other……

 

POPE SIXTUS  IV (1471-84), who funded the Sistine Chapel, had six illegitimate sons — one with his sister. He collected a Church tax on prostitutes and charged priests for keeping mistresses. Critics argued however that this merely increased the prevalence of clerical homosexuality.

POPE JULIUS  II (1503-13) is remembered for commissioning Michelangelo to paint the Sistene Chapel’s ceiling. His other clail to fame: the first pope to contract “the French disease,” syphilis, from Rome’s male prostitutes.

And the all-time winner of course is: Rodrigo Borgia, who took the name POPE ALEXANDER  VI (1492-1503). Edward Gibbon tells us he  presided over more orgies than masses. One of his special treats was the 1501 “Joust of the Whores.” Fifty dancers were invited to slowly strip around the papal table. Alexander and his family then gleefully threw chestnuts on the floor and forced the women to grovel around their feet like pigs. The papal party then offered special prizes for the fellow who could fornicate with the most women. One of Pope Alexander’s other favorite pastimes  was watching horses copulate. After his death — he was probably poisoned by his pathological son, Cesar Borgia — Alexander’s body was expelled from the basilica of Saint Peter as too evil to be buried in sacred soil.

Posted on by Dr. John Alonzo Dick

Legion of Christ Father Maciel: Bigamist, Pederast, Dope Fiend, and Plagiarist


Alma Guillermoprieto writing (17 May 2010) in the New York Review of Books offers chilling insight into the life of Legion of Christ founder Marcial Maciel and his friendship with Pope John Paul II and Vatican silence about his grossly immoral life style.

Some highlights:

Of all the terrible sexual scandals the hierarchs in the Vatican find themselves tangled in, none is likely to do as much institutional damage as the astounding and still unfolding story of the Mexican priest Marcial Maciel. The crimes committed against children by other priests and bishops may provoke rage, but they also make one want to look away. With Father Maciel, on the other hand, one can hardly tear oneself from the ghastly drama as it unfolds, page by page, revelation by revelation, in the Mexican press.

In the end, the scandal of Marcial Maciel, gruesome and ribald as it is, will turn out to be of much greater significance to the Catholic Church than the isolated terrors inflicted on their victims by one or another European or U.S. bishop or priest. There is the distressing question of the Church’s last Pope, the popular John Paul II, and his relations with the demonic priest. There is the not unimportant fact that the Legionaries—along with Benedict XVI and indeed John Paul—represent the most morally conservative part of the Church, and that they now appear enmeshed in the most squalid moral scandal it is possible to imagine. There is, above all, the fact that an entire, large, wealthy, international institution is now under suspicion (what did Maciel’s fellow Legionaries know, when did they know it, and who was complicit?) and that the greatest institution of all, the Roman Catholic Church, appears to have engaged in a cover-up for decades on its behalf. Catholics who always assumed that a priest and Bing Crosby were more or less identical will need some time to adjust to this knowledge.

From the NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2010/may/17/father-maciel/

Posted on by Dr. John Alonzo Dick · 1 Comment

Austrian Bishops: Winds of Catholic Reform


Far better than Maria Von Trapp’s Sound of Music are the reverberations coming from Austria.

The Austrian bishops in the course of a three day meeting in Mariazell:

(2)     have called for the ordination of married men

(1)     have asked that the Vatican open discussion about priestly celibacy

(3)    have called for “great reforms in the Church”

Earlier, last week, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna told a group of journalists that Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the former Vatican Secretary of State, had “deeply wronged” the victims of sexual abuse by downplaying the importance of the issue. On Easter Sunday, Cardinal Sodano had surprised everyone at the papal liturgy in St. Peter’s Square with an unscheduled statement of support for Pope Benedict XVI. In that statement Cardinal Sodano had referred to criticism of the Pope’s handling of the abuse issue as “petty gossip.” 

Cardinal Schönborn hinted that Cardinal Sodano—still a highly influential figure in Rome, as the dean of the College of Cardinals– had a history of underestimating the abuse problem. Schönborn said that in 1995, the future Pope Benedict pushed for a probe into abuse allegations against Cardinal Hans Hermann Groër – then Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna —  but that Cardinal Sodano resisted the probe. Cardinal Schönborn had earlier told The New York Times in April that Cardinal Ratzinger had called for an investigation of Cardinal Groër, who served as Archbishop of Vienna from 1986 to 1995, but that “the other side, the diplomatic side, had prevailed.”

Schönborn is emerging as a fascinating figure to watch and listen to. Some think he is working to make himself a likely papal successor to his friend and former teacher Joseph Ratzinger.

During his interview with Austrian newspaper reporters, Cardinal Schönborn made several other noteworthy comments:

  • On homosexual couples: “a stable relationship is certainly better than if someone simply indulges in promiscuity.”
  • On Catholics who divorce and remarry: the cardinal said the Church might need to reconsider the idea that they should not receive Communion.
  • On  the Roman Curia: it is “urgently in need of reform.”
Posted on by Dr. John Alonzo Dick

They Must be Whispering in the Loggia about Cardinal Levada


ABC News has focused once again on the actions and inaction of Cardinal William Levada, former Archbishop of Portland, Oregon (1986-1995) and Archbishop of San Francisco (1995-2005). In 2005 he became Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of  the Faith.

GILLIAN FLACCUS and BROOKE DONALD of the Associated Press report:

While Levada, 73, has played a key role in several church sex-abuse reforms, in several cases as archbishop in California and Oregon he kept some accused molesters in the church and failed to share some allegations with police or parishioners. According to interviews and hundreds of pages of personnel files, deposition transcripts and court records over a 20-year period reviewed by The Associated Press, Levada allowed molesters to remain in the priesthood, didn’t respond to pleas to notify parishioners of an abusive priest and worked with an alleged abuser to establish a lay review board.

Complete report here:             http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=10649634

I am sure there must be a good explanation…….And certainly some widespread whispering in the Vatican loggia.

Posted on by Dr. John Alonzo Dick · 3 Comments

Ecclesiastical Fashion Show


 

In order of appearance: Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop Paul Cremona of Malta,  Archbishop Raymond Burke,   Cardinal Castrillon, Cardinal Pell again but………………….. the all time winner has to be: Archbishop Raymond Burke!

And today’s episcopal fashion show Bible reading is from Matthew 23:5:

“They do everything to attract people’s attention. They make their headbands large and the tassels on their shawls long.”

Posted on by Dr. John Alonzo Dick · 1 Comment

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 Alonzo 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.”