If you want to cause trouble for American bishops, stick them in a vise between Rome and the armies of dissenters employed on Catholic campuses.<\/p>\n\n
But the bishops had to vote on Ex Corde Ecclesiae (\u201cFrom the Heart of the Church\u201d). After all, they had been arguing about this papal document throughout the 1990s, trying to square the doctrinal vision of Pope John Paul II with their American reality. Rome said their first response was too weak, when it came to insisting that Catholic schools remain openly Catholic. Finally, the bishops approved a tougher document on a 223-to-31 vote. <\/p>\n\n
Soon after that 1999 showdown, someone \u201cwith a good reason for wanting to know\u201d emailed a simple question to Russell Shaw of the United States Catholic Conference. Who voted against the statement?<\/p>\n\n
\u201cThere was no way to know. In fact, the Vatican doesn\u2019t know \u2014 for sure \u2014 who those 31 bishops where,\u201d said Shaw, discussing one of the many mysteries in his book, \u201cNothing to Hide: Secrecy, Communication and Communion in the Catholic Church.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cThe secret ballots were destroyed,\u201d he noted. \u201cThese days the voting process is even more secret, since the bishops just push a button and they\u2019ve voted. Even if you wanted to know how your bishop voted, or you wanted the Vatican to know how your bishop voted, there\u2019s no way to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Professionals have learned to read between the lines of debates held in the open sessions that the U.S. bishops choose to schedule. Outside those doors, insiders talk and spread rumors. Some bishops spin the press and others, usually those sending messages to Rome, hold press conferences, publish editorials or preach sermons. But many of the crucial facts remain cloaked in secrecy.<\/p>\n\n
Of course, noted Shaw, few leaders of powerful institutions enjoy discussing their crucial decisions \u2014 let alone corporate or personal sins \u2014 in public. When Catholic insiders complain about \u201cclericalism\u201d they are confronting a problem that affects all hierarchies, from government to academia, from the Pentagon to Wall Street.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a kind of elitism, a way of thinking and behaving that assigns to the managerial class a superior status,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are chiefs and everyone else is an Indian. They set the agenda. They always make the final decisions. They get to tell everyone else what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Of course, there\u2019s truth in the old image that puts the pope at the top of an ecclesiastical pyramid, with ranks of clergy cascading down to the pews. Catholicism is not a democracy and there are times when leaders must keep secrets. That\u2019s \u201ca truth,\u201d said Shaw, but it is \u201cnot the only truth,\u201d since the whole church is meant to be knit together in a Communion built on a \u201cradical equality of dignity and rights.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Part of what is happening, he explained, is that some bishops are protecting a \u201cfacade of unity\u201d that hides their doctrinal disagreements with the Vatican. While Shaw believes the bishops are more united with Rome now than they where were about 25 years ago, some bishops may be pushing for more and more closed \u201cexecutive\u201d sessions as a subconscious way to protect themselves.<\/p>\n\n
Take, for example, the brutal waves of scandal caused by the sexual abuse of children and teens by clergy. For several decades, argued Shaw, the bishops have been afraid to openly discuss \u201cthe causes of the dreadful mess \u2014 nasty things like homosexuality among priests, theological rationalizing on the subject of sex and the entrenched self-protectiveness of the old clericalist culture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
That\u2019s the kind of scandal that creates global headlines. But, for most Catholics, more commonplace forms of secrecy shape their lives at the local level, said Shaw.<\/p>\n\n
Consider another story reported in Shaw\u2019s book, about a woman who quietly confronted a priest after a Mass in which he omitted the creed. When he failed to acknowledge the error, she said, \u201cFather, you teach your people to be disobedient when you disobey the Church.\u201d <\/p>\n\n
The offended priest was silent. Then he leaned forward and whispered, \u201cYou know what honey? You\u2019re full of it.\u201d The priest walked away, giving the woman and her husband what appeared to be \u201cthe single-digit salute.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Truth is, said Shaw, \u201cclericalism is often alive and well at the local level. That\u2019s the kind of secrecy and dishonesty that really cuts the heart of many local parishes, destroying any hope for real Communion there.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If you want to cause trouble for American bishops, stick them in a vise between Rome and the armies of dissenters employed on Catholic campuses. But the bishops had to vote on Ex Corde Ecclesiae (\u201cFrom the Heart of the Church\u201d). After all, they had been arguing about this papal document throughout the 1990s, trying […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":610,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[125,158,239,1533,439,781,903],"class_list":["post-1516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bishops","tag-catholic","tag-clericalism","tag-doctrine","tag-homosexuality","tag-secrecy","tag-vatican"],"yoast_head":"\n