Replies

I'm most certainly not holding it against any of my Catholic friends, my Friend! But I think that, along with the rest of the sex scandals, the bishops could do a better job with those so-called universities.

I am also troubled by Sunday's installation to sainthood of the Bishop of Rome who allowed the sex scandals to flourish under his nose. So I'm checking out of my "hopeful" phase over Pope Francis now, and will be content to be a lapsed CathoProt for the rest of my life. The only thing I can hope for now is an individual congregation somewhere that has not yet given up the race. I'm as done with Big Religion as I am with Big Government and Big Business.

My best understanding of JP2 is that he was responsible for poor administration and oversight, but not of knowing cover-up or negligence of the morally corrupt sort.

I see it this way: Karol Wojtyla's deep background was with the Polish Church in resistance during the Nazi and Communist eras. In both eras, the State was continually trying to destroy the Church's moral authority by multiplying scurrilous rumors, false charges, and bogus prosecutions against clergy (they did this A LOT). Many of the Polish priests and bishops in JP's formative years were indisputably heroic. That's the vision embedded in him: that of the heroic priesthood.

Later on, he was reflexively and strongly skeptical of moral accusations against prominent priests, especially originating in places were the Church was under attack. He trusted "holy priests." He didn't trust the prosecutors or the press.

This was a serious, serious error. It's particularly sickening in, for instance, the case of Fr. Marcial Maciel, where the pervy-priest was a founder of a religious order that was (ostensibly) very vigorous, very orthodox, very rich in vocations and in the spread of the Gospel. All that "virtue," plus Maciel was a sociopath (overworked word, I know) --- a guy who was devilishly adept at living a double life while appearing astute, humble, holy: a master manipulator, a charmer and deceiver, as so many of the sex offenders are.

A person isn't canonized for having no blind spots, no weaknesses, or even for being a good administrator or a charismatic personality. He's canonized in recognition of heroic virtue which makes him an example to the faithful. I think Pope John Paul had that virtue, which we do well to study and imitate.

But you can go to hell by imitating the faults of the saints.