The Catholic church has another sex scandal on its hands. This time involving the late Marcial Maciel. Assuming the allegations are true, he was an active bisexual.
This raises a number of issues. Sexual misconduct, can, of course, occur in any denomination. And it occurs both inside and outside the church.
1.If the Catholic church is the true church, then shouldn’t we hold it to a higher standard? At one level, this scandal is very familiar. It reflects the pattern of misconduct and cover-up that we’d expect to find in a secular organization. Yet Catholicism doesn’t claim to be just another human institution.
2.Likewise, if the Catholic church has the true sacraments, sacraments which confer grace ex opere operato, then shouldn’t we expect Catholics who were regenerated in baptism and attend Mass regularly to be more saintly than the average evangelical?
3.Fallen human nature is prone to hero worship and personality cults. Within Protestantism, we see this in blind following which some televangelists attract.
The problem in Catholicism, however, is that, instead of resisting this sinful tendency, it promotes it. Makes it official.
Therefore, a celebrated prelate like Maciel has much further to fall than the downfall of a televangelist or faith-healer.
4.Maciel was acting just like a typical cult leader. And it says something about Catholicism that gives haven to cult leaders like Maciel.
5.From what I’ve read, the late John-Paul II is also complicit in this scandal. He functioned as a shield.
Now, John-Paul II was very pious by Catholic standards. He wasn’t like the Borgia popes. He wasn’t worldly. He wasn’t a nominal believer.
What does it say about Catholic spirituality when intense piety and moral blindness so easy cohabit?
What does all that Marian devotion, daily masses, prayers, confessions, &c, amount to when the individual is that deficient in elementary moral discernment and resolve?
Remember, too, that the pope is ultimately responsible for church discipline. He’s the top cop in the hierarchy. He’s responsible for someone like Maciel. Responsible for the conduct of his subordinates.
He can’t prevent them from doing certain things, but if it comes to his attention, he can take action.
6.Due to the hierarchical structure of Catholicism, accountability is a one-way street. There is no one to watch the watchman. So it operates like a classic cult. An autocrat at the top of the food chain who is answerable to no one. And Catholicism is an overarching cult that spawns miniature cults under its protective penumbra.
7.This scandal also draws attention to the overly familiar problem of clerical celibacy.
8.Ultimately, though, the lion’s share of the blame belongs, not to the Catholic hierarchy, but the Catholic laity. The laymen are responsible for bankrolling this operation.
What we will see, in the face of this scandal, is the usual hand-wringing and fist-shaking by indignant laymen during the week, only to see them dutifully process back into same corrupt institution come Sunday.
Catholic laymen are the enablers. They write the checks which their decadent clergymen cash. It’s a self-perpetuating scam.
It reminds me of what happens when a faith-healer is exposed. His “revelations” turn out to be somebody backstage whispering into his earpiece.
After he’s exposed, some of his one-time followers become disillusioned and go elsewhere, but others head straight back to the tent meeting the very next day.
For them, this is an act of faith. This validates their faith. They prove their faith by continuing to believe in the discredited faith-healer despite all the damning evidence. Only a true believer would stand by a fallen faith-healer. So this is their way of showing God how faithful they are.
And devout Catholics react exactly the same way in the face of the latest clerical scandal. This is a test of their faith in Mother Church. They must bear their cross. Indeed, there’s something meritorious about their perseverance despite the public stigma.
This is why we needed a Reformation. And this is why the Reformation is far from over.