…too
many bishops acted as managers and not as apostles
A
review published in the Jan. 10issue of The Pilot" re:George Weigel at
B.C. 3 Dec 02).
Special
to The Pilot
“The
greatest crisis ever to hit the Catholic Church in America… offers an
opportunity to build a more deeply ‘Catholic’ Church.”
These
words, by world-renowned author and theologian George Weigel, opened his
one-hour presentation on Dec. 3 to a packed and attentive audience as part of Boston
College’s “Church in the 21st Century” series. A prolific
Catholic writer and senior fellow of Washington’s Ethics and Public
Policy Center, Weigel referenced his latest book, “The Courage To Be
Catholic,” sharing views on what the current crisis is and is not, as
well as proposed reforms.
According
to Weigel, the crisis is one of priestly identity. “The priest is an
icon, an eternal representation of Jesus Christ,” who doesn’t
behave as a predator, abusing children or women. However, the crisis is not
caused by celibacy, since these abuses were committed by “men who were
not living celibate lives.” He joked that it was “spurious”
to suggest married clergy or the institution of marriage was a preventative
solution to the problem, indicating that other faiths that permit married
clergy “have their own problems.”
Weigel
observed that the crisis is a crisis of discipleship, with an underlying cause
being a failure of people to live their lives rooted in Catholic faith. Later
in the talk, he further observed that the crisis was not about Church teachings
on sexual morality, but rather due to a failure to live the truth of the
Church’s sexual ethic.
Many
Catholic universities and colleges treat the Catholic sexual ethic like a
“medieval artifact” and, based on this, Weigel questioned how
academic institutions could prescribe solutions without appropriate study and
acceptance of these teachings.
Referring
to the firestorm of anger that has been directed at the episcopal leadership of
the Church in recent months, Weigel suggested that it may be due to the fact
that “too many bishops acted as managers and not as apostles.”
“It
was the failures of episcopal leadership that turned a significant problem of
clerical sex abuse into a crisis,” he continued, explaining that the role
of a bishop is to teach, govern, and sanctify.
Weigel
argued that rather than being caused by an authoritarian Church hierarchy, the
present crisis has come about, at least partially, as a result of the
hierarchy’s failure to exercise authority. Many bishops and priests saw
themselves more like “discussion group moderators” or
“referees” whose primary responsibility has been to keep everyone
content. “Catholic Lite” replaced traditional acceptance of
Catholic teaching, and the result was what Weigel described as “invisible
schism” created by a culture of dissent over the past 35 years.
Suggesting
that the Church’s “ecology was damaged,” he claimed that this
culture of dissent began when some priests refused to accept the teachings of Humanae
Vitae in 1968, and bishops were unwilling to enforce discipline. The result
being that many priests learned to live “double lives of intelligent
self-deception,” in which they were “overtly accepting teachings
that they did not personally accept and didn’t intend to promote and
teach,” he said.
This
point was reinforced during the question period when a man identifying himself
as a BC theology professor suggested Humanae Vitae might be a false teaching of
the Magisterium. Weigel was quick to admonish that whoever said they believed
the Church’s supreme teaching authority was teaching falsehoods in our
own name, “have fractured their own union with the Church.”
Weigel
proposed remedies for the crisis in three areas. In theological education, the Church’s
tradition as expressed by Augustine and others should be learned, and orthodoxy
among seminary professors should be required. Seminary formation must emphasize
celibate chastity and the truths of the Church’s sexual ethic. Lastly, the
processes for selection of bishops need “deep and authentic reform”
to ensure bishops manifest personal conviction to Christ, have previously been
successful inspiring vocations, and “have the courage to be
counter-cultural.”
Weigel
said that the Church should not “lower the bar” of moral and
spiritual expectations. “Catholic Lite” is Catholic
mediocrity… Authentic Catholic reform requires orthodoxy and high
fidelity.”
The
primary answer to a crisis of infidelity is fidelity, and the solution is for
everyone in the Church “to lead more radically authentic lives of
discipleship,” he said.
mailto:Comments@FaithfulVoice.com
Date
: 9 JANUARY 2003
This
report is excellent. It's comprehensive and well-written.
I
believe that the "B.C. theology instructor" was Fr. Hollenbach, S.J..
I
just wish that George Weigel would have had an opportunity to debate Fr.
Hollenbach on
a
one-one basis. If any one proved what George Weigel had to say about the
"silent
schism" it was Fr. Hollenbach!
I hope that The Pilot will publish
Bill's
article. I hope that Bishop Lennon and whoever takes over permanently
fpr
Cardinal Law will have the courage to take on the situation at B.C.. Talk
about
"managing" instead of giving true leadership, Fr. Leahy is the prime
example
of that policy. Good luck Bill!! –
Alice
Slattery