[Servant of the Cross]

Church officials are calling it the “Tebartz-effect”, with dioceses across the country reporting receiving letters from congregation members saying that they had lost faith in the church's handling of its finances.

IMHO, if your faith in God is dependent upon the scandalous actions of a Church official (or worse a 'church tax'), you didn't have a real 'faith' to begin with.

Those who commit these types of scandals are guilty of the spiritual equivalent of murder," destroying other people's faith in God by their terrible example. But then he warned his listeners, "But I'm here among you to prevent something far worse for you. While those who give scandal are guilty of the spiritual equivalent of murder, those who take scandal — who allow scandals to destroy their faith — are guilty of spiritual suicide." ... St. Francis de Sales

[count-your-change]

A nice bit of foot work there, SC. In my discussions with many former Catholics I find it loss of faith in the Catholic church that follows the endless and horrid scandals not a loss of faith in God.

So these former Catholics continue their search for God. As in Jesus’ illustration the wheat is easily distinguished from the weeds ever more easily.