If Only the Führer Knew! Part II

January 21, 2011 in clergy sex abuse scandal, Pope John Paul 11 Comments Tags: beatification, Pope John Paul

Les Femmes website linked to my criticism of the beatification of John Paul.

This reply I think is typical of the Catholic reaction:

It is an out-and-out lie to claim that Pope John Paul II failed to carry out the duties of his state in life. Could he have done a better job? Yes, but then again, one could say that about anyone in any situation — no matter how well anybody may do something, they could always do better. Podles’ article is devoted to His Holiness’ handling of the sex abuse situation in the Church. How does he, or you for that matter, know that he did nothing and ignored the problem? He may very well have taken action behind closed doors; I mean, the Vatican doesn’t call press conferences to broadcast such things. Even so, during his years in Communist Poland, the Communists often slandered priests by falsely accusing them of sexual impropriety. So if His Holiness was slow to believe such charges about any given priest, can you really blame him? As for allegedly raising most of the bad bishops in question to the episcopacy, do Podles or you know for certain that he was aware that some of those whom he was appointing weren’t going to be good bishops? Even if he was aware, did it ever cross your mind that maybe he chose the ones he chose because there was literally NOBODY better at the time? But then again, remember that Our Lord chose Judas to be one of His disciples. He also chose Peter, who denied Him three times, and the other disciples, who, except for John, were nowhere to be found during His Passion. One might as well accuse Our Lord of doing a terrible job of choosing disciples.

In closing, I want to say to you, Mary Ann, but also Kindred Spirit, that if the Church does indeed beatify and/or canonize John Paul II (I say “if” because anything could happen between now and May 1), I hope you will humbly submit to the Church’s judgment (and believe me, the Church makes sure to do its homework when it comes to the causes of saints), especially if he gets canonized, as canonizations are infallible.

You see there must be a good reason for what John Paul did or failed to do, because, because, why BECAUSE! Otherwise we could not place childlike trust in the popes and might have to think like adults, judging character and actions by normal human moral standards.

One can see why Freud regarded religion as a sign of infantilism.

If Only the Führer Knew!

January 17, 2011 in clergy sex abuse scandal, clericalism, Pope John Paul II 20 Comments Tags: Pope John Paul, sexual abuse

Ian Kershaw wrote of the common German’s reaction to Nazi excesses and atrocities:

the myth of ‘if only the Fuhrer knew’ was already at work. Many genuinely believed that matters, especially if unpalatable, were deliberately kept from Hitler, and that if he learned of them he would act swiftly to set things right.

A similar attitude characterizes most Catholics’ reaction to the possibility that John Paul II was guilty of a major failure in tolerating sexual abuse by clerics. They can’t believe that John Paul knew what was going on and didn’t act. His subordinates most have kept things from him or he must have been disabled or…or…or well something!

But the evidence is very strong that John Paul knew (or had every reason to suspect) what was going on and decided not to investigate and not to act against it. We do not know his motive for not acting – probably something to do with clericalism. He feared, probably, that cleansing the Church of this evil would necessarily involve revealing the extent of the evil, a revelation which would discredit the Church, from Marciel Maciel and Cardinal Sodano and Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos down to the abusers in isolated rural parishes. Better the children suffer (however regrettable that might be) that the great work that the Church was doing be undermined. I doubt that he ever put it so baldly to himself, but as far as we can tell from the evidence and his actions and inactions, that in fact is what was in his mind.

It is the temptation of all those in authority, taking the broad view, looking at the greater good. Another high priest advised, “it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”

Pope John Paul’s Policies on Child Molesters

June 7, 2010 in clergy sex abuse scandal 6 Comments Tags: Oliver O'Grady, Pope John Paul

The diocese of Stockton, California bought convicted child molester Rev. Oliver O’Grady a pension (at the cost of 94,000) that would begin when O’Grady turned 65. Bishop Blaire of Stockton explained to his diocese:

When Oliver O’Grady was in prison, he refused to apply for removal from the priesthood, also known as laicization or defrocking. Already in 1993 Bishop Donald Montrose had removed O’Grady’s authorization to exercise priestly ministry.

I came to the Diocese in March, 1999 and O’Grady was to be paroled in November, 2000. I was determined that he not leave prison as a priest. At the time, the church process for removal from the priesthood was lengthy and often uncertain. There was no guarantee that he would be laicized.

O’Grady’s Canon lawyer informed me that O’Grady would voluntarily seek laicization if some retirement funds were made available for his later years. I found this arrangement very distasteful, but I was adamant that he not walk out of prison as a priest even though he had been removed from exercising ministry. So I reluctantly agreed to the proposal.

I wanted to provide some measure of justice for his victims and some peace of mind that he would never again use his priesthood to damage families.

The bishop seems to be telling the full truth.

After Vatican II, a flood of priests left the priesthood. Paul VI was hurt but granted almost all the requests. When John Paul II was elected, he stopped the automatic granting of requests and made it especially difficult to to remove a priest against the priest’s will.

This policy applied even to convicted, jailed child molesters like Oliver O’Grady.

After Cardinal Ratzinger took over the abuse cases in 2002, he ensured that abusers were removed far more expeditiously, and when he became pope he speeded up the process even more (although he has not acted against the bishops who enabled abuse).

John Paul’s blindness to the damage that he was doing by allowing convicted child molesters to remain in the priesthood is a severe stain on his papacy.