Robert Mickens

In the past five or six decades, Catholic bishops in almost every part of the world have stood by, paralyzed, watching helplessly as the number and quality of priesthood candidates have continued to dwindle.

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We continue to hear of incidents that more than suggest that Catholics – and, in particular, their bishops – have learned very little from the clergy sex abuse crisis.

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When the history of Pope Francis’ time as Bishop of Rome is finally written, there is a good chance that the Year of Our Lord 2020 will be recorded as the most important of his entire pontificate. Some are wondering whether it may actually be his last.

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“The Church is 200 years behind the times.” (“La Chiesa è rimasta indietro di 200 anni”.)

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There’s a lot of commotion in and around the Vatican right now. It consists mostly of the angry rumblings of traditionalist Catholics who don’t particularly care for the way Pope Francis is leading the Church. Then there are the retaliatory rebukes of the pope’s most eager supporters. This has only increased the volume.

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“Xenophobia and aporophobia today are part of a populist mentality that leaves no sovereignty to the people. Xenophobia destroys the unity of a people, even that of the people of God.”No one who has been following the activities of Pope Francis these past six or so years will be surprised by this condemnation of distain for foreigners and the poor.

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Pope Francis is an equal opportunity offender. No matter where you place yourself along the Catholic Church’s broad spectrum – right, left or center; conservative or liberal; traditional or progressive – if you are not challenged and even disturbed by some of the things this pope says and does, then you are not paying attention.

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“Among all the world’s political and social leaders, Pope Francis stands increasingly alone as the most powerful force for global peace and stability.” Thus began the prelude to an earlier article titled, “Pope Francis or Steve Bannon. Catholics must choose.”

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How many cardinals does it take to help Pope Francis reform the Roman Curia? And how many years do they need to get the job done?Many Catholics – at least those who are hoping the pope can succeed in decentralizing ecclesial power away from the Vatican – have grown frustrated that after some six years there have been no definitive answers to those questions.

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Among all the world’s political and social leaders, Pope Francis stands increasingly alone as the most powerful force for global peace and stability. Thank God – and the cardinals who elected him in March 2013 – that the Argentine Jesuit is the current Bishop of Rome.

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Catholic bishops, including those in Vatican offices, are not exactly the most credible authorities on issues pertaining to sexuality these days. Few people would disagree with this, except – maybe – bishops themselves. And, of course, those who are trying hard to be named bishops. The lack of credibility on sexual morality is not just because of the hierarchs’ disastrous mishandling of the still-unfolding clergy sex abuse pandemic.

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“If you want to be priest, lie!”That was supposed to be a punch line in “Mass Appeal,” a comedy-drama written by American Catholic playwright Bill C. Davis. First staged in 1980, it was made into a film four years later.

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The first rays of dawn had barely begun to rise over a cloudy St. Peter’s Square and the Vatican. But at 6:20 a.m. on Sunday, May 5, Pope Francis was already on his way to Rome’s Fiumicino Airport where, 40 minutes later, he would embark on a two-hour flight to the Bulgarian capital of Sophia.

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Illustrative of the Church’s fear of revealing the truth is the case of Msgr. Joseph Punderson.  (more…)

“The Church is called to come out from itself and to go to the peripheries, not only those that are geographical, but also existential: those of the mystery of sin, of suffering, of injustice; those of ignorance and of the absence of faith; those of thought; those of every form of misery,” the then-Archbishop of Buenos Aires said.

He then pointed to a passage in the Book of Revelation where Jesus says: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.”

“Obviously, the text refers to the fact that he stands outside the door and knocks to come in,” the future pope said. “But at times I think Jesus may be knocking from the inside, so we will let him out.”

It is an image that Francis has used to warn against the Church becoming (or remaining) “self-referential” and inwardly focused. He rightly believes that a Church turned in on itself and obsessed with internal problems is severely impeded from carrying out its true mission.

But there are a number of critical issues pertaining to the Household of God — particularly in its Roman chambers — that cannot be ignored or avoided.

They have been a cause of scandal for a great many and a wound to all. One of them is sexual abuse by Catholic priests and the inadequate way the hierarchy — especially the Vatican and the popes — have responded to this sinful and criminal behavior.

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There is no question that Francis is authentic — He does not demand of others what he does not demand of himself.  (more…)

The question is did they all decide to jump together or were they pushed?

It can be called nothing less than cataclysmic. The Catholic bishops of an entire national hierarchy have offered to step down for their negligence in handling cases of alleged clergy sex abuse of minors. (more…)

The biggest error Catholic leaders have made regarding the church’s response to priests abusing children has been the exclusion of women leading the policy-making and reform process. (more…)