From the Question Box: “Scandals and the Church”

From The Question Box:
“Will you not admit that many of the leaders of your Church— her Popes, Bishops and priests— have been wicked men? How can you call such a Church holy?”

The Church remains holy, no matter how many of her leaders prove faithless to the Gospel they preach, for these men are cut off from the Church’s life by their sins, which can never be traced to her teachings or laws. Would you call an apple tree bad, because you discovered some rotten apples lying on the ground beneath it? No, you judge the tree by the ripening or ripe apples on its boughs. Wicked churchmen will one day have to render a strict account to Almighty God for their stewardship, for as Christ said: “Unto whomsoever much is given, of him much will be required” (Luke xii. 16).

Out of a long line of worthy popes, seventy-six of whom are reckoned among the saints, only a few were unworthy of their high office, such as John XII (955-964), Benedict IX (1024-1032), and Alexander VI (1492-1503). But the proportion of unworthy Apostles was one out of twelve. No world dynasty can be compared from the standard of virtue with our illustrious dynasty of two hundred and sixty-two Popes.

At all periods of Church history there have been unworthy Bishops and priests, but as a rule they either repented of their sins before they died, or proved their utter wickedness by apostatizing in times of trial and persecution, or by lapsing into formal heresy and schism.

Is it fair to be ever citing the evil lives of the minority, when all admit that the majority of clerics have ever been faithful to God and the things of God? Dean Maitland, an honest non-Catholic historian, says: “It appears to be the testimony of history that the monks and clergy were at all times and places better than the people” (The Dark Ages, viii). Voltaire, an arch-enemy of Christianity, makes the same assertion.

Rev. Bertrand L. Conway, C.S.P., The Question Box: Replies to Questions Received on Missions to Non-Catholics (New York: Paulist Press, 1929).

NOTE
In 1858, Father Isaac T. Hecker founded the Paulist Fathers to work for the conversion of America to Catholicism. Composed entirely of converts at the start, it was the first religious community of priests founded in the United States. An important part of their work was the lecture course for non-Catholics, whose purpose was to explain Catholic teaching and clear up misunderstandings.


In 1893, Chicago hosted the Parliament of World Religions, the first country’s first major interfaith gathering. In the Assembly Hall the Paulists placed a question box where anyone could ask any question they wanted about any aspect of Catholic belief and practice. It turned out to be a great success, and was used at parishes and Catholic schools throughout the country as well.


Over thirty years, the Paulists received some 250,000 questions from all parts of the country. The first edition was published in 1903. By the late 1920’s, over two million copies of the book were in print. Today the Paulist-sponsored website Busted Halo offers a modern version of The Question Box for its readers