Free Republic

The End of Gaudium et Spes? A strained optimism--possibly a product of the era in the Second Vatican Council met--thwarts realistic attempts to address the crisis in Catholicism today. By James Hitchcock May. 01 (CWR) - Historical events can never be understood fully by those immersed in them, since larger patterns only become apparent with time. But only those who live through events can understand the force of that elusive reality which later historians can never fully recover: the "spirit of the times." The Second Vatican Council has been endlessly studied and debated, in terms of its decrees and their...

The flood of sex abuse allegations against priests this year has focused attention on the Roman Catholic Church, but Protestant denominations have also faced sex scandals involving clergy. In fact, while data are sketchy, at least one expert believes the incidence of clergy molesting young children may be about as frequent - or infrequent - in Protestantism as it is in Catholicism. Others have found Protestant scandals have a tendency to surface in cases where male ministers are counseling women or teen-age girls, while the allegations against priests have frequently involved underage males. Penn State historian Philip Jenkins argued in...