Wow. The New York Times can’t stop itself.
In an editorial on Saturday, the Grey Lady deemed last weeks changes to the motu proprio concerning crimes against the holy sacraments worse than inadequate. “Among all the defensive posturing and inept statements,” write the editors, there was one real stunner.” And the shock? The Vatican has the gall to cite attempts to ordain women as a grave crime, along with further clarification of sexual abuse. How dare they mention both in the same document!
This motu proprio, Sacramentorum Sanctitatis Tutela, was originally put forward in 2001 by Pope John Paul II as the canonical mechanism for clarifying and steamlining the process by which priests accused of sexual abuse of minors, as well as other grave offenses could be removed from the priesthood. It’s something akin to legislation refining laws for prosecuting crimes.
The recently released revisions offer still further clarifications: an increase in the statute of limitations to 20 years, establishing the possibility of immediate dismissal from the clerical state (“defrocking”), by direct action of the Pope rather than by ecclesiastical trial, as well as specifying the right of the Vatican to take action against bishops.
In addition to these procedural changes, the modifications specify more clearly the range of sexual abuse properly subject to canoncial sanctions, as well as adding other actions, such as tape recording a confession or attempting to ordain women to the priesthood.
It was on this point that the Times goes ballistic, as did Maureen Dowd in one of her typically intemperate effusions.
The party line seems to be this: The Catholic Church “equates pedophilia with the ordination of women.” Which proves how terrible and stupid and morally rebarbative the Church has become (always was?).
This reaction shows, I think, the intellectual limitations of the secular media. Sacramentorum Sanctitatis Tutela concerns itself with crimes against the sacrements of penance (confession), the eucharist, and holy orders. It treats throwing away the consecrated host in the same document as breaking the seal of confession—and breaking the vow of chastity and soiling the priesthood by way of sexual abuse of minors.
The secular media insists that sexual abuse is a unique crime, to be understood only in light of the harm done to the abused victims. Of course this is a dimension, but not the only dimension. In secular law, a murder or theft is a crime against the civil order of society, which is why our criminal trials are conducted by judges for the sake of the common good, and not for the sake of the victims or their families. The same holds for ecclesiastical crimes, which assault and damage the supernatural life of the Church.
Civil society categorizes crimes according to their formal nature as well as their intrinsic gravity. Crimes against property fall into a different category than crimes against persons, and so forth. The same holds for the Church. In her system sexual crimes committed by priests are crimes against the sacramental system, of which the vows of the priesthood are an important part.
I can only shake my head over the shrillness. Dowd accuses the Vatican of being more concerned to protect the institution of the Church than . . . Well, it seems she wants mass public displays of atonement complete with hecatombs.
But the fact of the matter is this. If one believes that the Catholic Church is the Body of Christ and the ark of salvation made real to us in and through the sacraments, then it is precisely every Catholic’s duty to protect the sacramental system of the church.
Cardinal Law sinned against the church in Boston. His actions in covering up the pedophilia of priests greviousy wounded the Church, crippling the voice of the Gospel and sowing a bitter season of mistrust. The same may hold for other bishops elsewhere, some of whom elevated the boys club of the priesthood above the Church, and others of whom very likely were culpably negligent because they couldn’t be bothered.
But the huff and puff about the need for the Church to somehow acknowlege that the sins of its officers are more decisive, more important, than her sacramental life. This posturing amounts to insisting that the Catholic Church renounce the Catholic faith.
The editors at the New York Times know a publicity hammer when they see it, and these days it seems they are hammering on the Catholic Church as hard as they can. Of course, we shouldn’t forget that the Church forged the hammer herself out of her own quite substantial failure, some of which I fear have yet to be fully revealed.
July 19th, 2010 | 3:14 pm
“And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them; neither be afraid of their words, though briars and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions; be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.” Ezekiel ii. 6.
http://www.newmanreader.org/works/parochial/volume8/sermon10.html
July 19th, 2010 | 5:05 pm
As always, erudite and cogent thinking from First Things–thanks. I left a comment for Ms. Dowd and the Times allowed it for a few hours and took it down. As the first one to comment on her rant, I must have been deemed too negative.
Your best point is that the secular media is just out of its league when commenting on the Church. No one “out there” seems to take the time to understand the institution. Most likely that is because it is not reform they seek from the Church; instead, they seek its destruction.
July 19th, 2010 | 5:40 pm
I am a Catholic and a big fan of the present Pope. Somewhere Benedict has said that the Church will become very small in the future. If this happens, it will be the Church’s own fault. People of good will have been looking for some hard, decisive action on this issue, but they have not seen it. Summarily defrocking a few bad priests, or a bishop, may have done the trick, but it’s too late now. You can’t blame people for not understanding the Church’s “slow as molasses” procedures. Maureen Dowd is a jackass, but she speaks for the majority.
July 19th, 2010 | 6:43 pm
How anyone can think of an organization that spent the last 2000 years killing and torturing people a religion is beyond me. That the pope is infallible in matters of faith is a joke…I can’t imagine anyone with even a slight knowledge of the life of Christ would believe that church speaks for Him. Read a novel called on This Rock by Dave Leonard to get a sense of what this church is about.
July 19th, 2010 | 8:16 pm
Mark: Read a novel called “Death Comes For The Archbishop” by Willa Cather to get a sense of what this church is about.
July 19th, 2010 | 9:07 pm
[...] Mary Magdalene). …Drawing the Line on Scandals in the ChurchNational Catholic Register (blog)Hammering on RomeFirst Things (blog)What is it with the Roman Catholic Church and women?NJ.com (blog)all 32 news [...]
July 20th, 2010 | 12:33 am
I am glad to see the acknowledgment of Cardinal Law’s awful conduct in Boston. But this same Cardinal Law is now archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome and participated in the papal conclave that elected Pope Benedict. His salary may be as high as $12,000 per month and he lives in a luxury apartment.
So is this how the Church treats apologists and enablers of pedophilia? By flying them to Rome and letting them live the high-life? Until the Church requires that its officials in the U.S. report instances of pedophilia to the police and gets rid of Law and other disgraceful figures like Sean Brady in Ireland, its apologies and pledges are a bit hallow.
July 20th, 2010 | 3:50 am
“If they hated me, they will hate you even more. All manner of calumny will be heaped on you for My sake” Jesus said words to that effect somewhere. He came as Emmanuel, did many, many good things, and we crucified Him – for what?. How can His Church expect better treatment from the World. Yet somewhere again He said. “I did not come to condemn the world, but to save it.” And He states: “Upon this Rock I shall build My Church and the powers of hades shall not prevail upon it. Again, “And I give you the keys of Heaven, what you bid on earth is bound in Heaven and what you losen on earth is losened in Heaven”. And again in another part He declares “I shall be with you until the end of time”. Yes, the Church must suffer from within and without, but She shall stand, and stand firm, until the end of time. This is our Faith. This is Christ’s teaching that we follow, the Christ whom we worship, the Christ who died to save the world. Praise be Jesus Christ
July 20th, 2010 | 6:49 am
MarkM: I agree with you. Cardinal Law should be working as an assistant manager at Wal-Mart.
July 20th, 2010 | 6:55 am
Thank goodness there was no commandment for bishops to notify the police of cases of suspected child abuse or to remove the suspected priest from contact with children pending investigation.
July 20th, 2010 | 7:43 am
Yes it does seem that “justice” has been merciful for Cardinal Law and unfathomably slow for others (any word on Cardinal Sodano?).
Those issues aside, I agree that the Church has the obligation to defend the sanctity of the sacraments, but why not condemn all “attempts at illicit ordination”? Certainly, a unilateral attempt by a bishop to ordain a man outside of the structure and requirements of the Church is also a grave offense? It seems to me that this language would have covered all the necessary ground and might have avoided the PR disaster.
July 20th, 2010 | 10:53 am
I agree completely with R. R. Reno’s comments on how the secular media is almost always clueless about the history and structure of the Catholic Church. But, although a traditional Catholic and a big fan of Benedict, I am often quite frustrated at how often the Vatican is flat-footed in its statements responses. While the secular media needs to understand the Church more, so do Church leaders have to understand how non-Catholics will receive and perceive any announcements or teachings that emanate from the Vatican or bishops’ councils. This doesn’t mean that the Vatican and the bishops need to engage in deceptive spin; they just need to imagine how others might perceive their actions and motivation and explain the Church’s teaching and actions simply and clearly with some thought given to timing and to context.
July 20th, 2010 | 10:55 am
[...] R. Reno offers an interesting response to criticisms the Catholic Church has received about its recent document on disciplining [...]
July 20th, 2010 | 2:14 pm
Mark:
It’s great to see that no scholarly work ever gets by you, no matter how obscure. Leonard has uncovered the truth about a secret society within the Catholic Church! He wrote a novel about it! It’s how the Church is not really what it says it is! He’s really on to something, isn’t he?!?! I mean, where else could we find such information?
Keep up the good work!
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