The 'anti-Catholic!' cry is a cheap, easy accusation

We are all aware of the horrendous sex scandal and the true lack of actions on the part of the Bishops, but, no need to harangue the complete church b

Agree 100%.

Great job Tom. Personally I would love to hear one bishop state the truth. "I did what I did to cover my own ass." I guess there wearing cappa magnas will have to suffice.

Bravo!

It has to be with a certian amount of sadness that I say, "Mr Roberts, you nailed it." If hypocricy were the 8th sacrament, we'd have the holiest church in the world.

Tom, with talk like this, aren't you receiving death threats?

/Bravo, Bravo Mr. Roberts, God Bless you for your corage.

Well done, Tom. You are exactly right from start to finish. It is intelligent analysis like yours that makes me an NCR subscriber.

Steve

Roberts wrote: "The reality is, of course, that it is increasingly difficult to establish an anti-Catholic case of any substance or depth in the culture when so much -- industry, politics, finance, academia, the Supreme Court itself -- is in the hands of high-profile Catholics."

If only these were not only High-profile but also practicing Catholics, like Ted Kennedy. We might then find equality for our poorest and most oppressed, including the artificially illegal immigrant, and the Black. The Spanish speaking might as well discover equality as most Catholics (mostly of the lowest profile except for our excellent new Ambassador to the Vatican) are in fact Spanish speaking.

If only those of proudly high profile would visit the Catholics of the lowest profile, would realize the Eucharistic dimension of our communion together, and dedicate ourselves ever more fully to the works of peace and justice, now, following our papal encyclicals and exhortations, right up through Caritas in Veritate.

May the Blackwater Catholics, for example discover the road to real peace, beat their swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks. May the Wall Street Catholics sell all that they have and give that money to the poor and then follow Jesus. I cannot judge others, and beg all to pray for my own continuing conversion, and the strength and courage to Love my enemy, and the wisdom to discover how to make this real and undeniable Love.

frère charles du désert OSB OBLAT (Congrégation de Subiaco)

What a shameful article, the Founders of NCR must be rolling in their graves...

An excellent article. I'm going to send a copy to my bishop. You will all know him in the near future since he will be the next Archbishop or next President of the USCC of bishops, or both. He also is the bishop that refuses to remove the name of one of the ten worst bishops of America from the public street address of this citie's Pastoral Center. I wonder why?

Amen. The hypocrisy is appalling.

In the reading from the Gospel of Mark on Nov. 8 the first paragraph has Jesus warning people to beware of "scribes who go around in long robes..., seek places of honor..., devour widows and as a pretext recite lengthy prayers." Interestingly that is the paragraph in brackets that may be skipped. Hmmm.

It's of further interest that the rest of the reading is about the poor widow who gives her all. Naturally, the homily amplifies that part of the Gospel and conveniently uses it to appeal for money, along with some warnings about how one shouldn't quit giving or cut their donations because of not agreeing with the way things were going in the church. Good luck with that one!

I hate being cynical but find myself increasingly so with regard to our leadership, particularly in the Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese. We seem to have many control freaks in high places.

Bravo! Until the hierarchy realizes the deep anger the laity continues to have about the crime AND the cover-up they will have no credibility.

The only “Canard” here is this articles attempt to characterize the Catholic church as a monolithic organization bent on dictating sexual mores and even worse dominating the lives of not only her own flock but the world at large as well! Tom Roberts sets out trying to refute Archbishop Timothy Dolan’s valiant defense against anti-Catholic bias in the so called main stream press only to write the same invective . Such examples of miscasting the Church in his article include the following most enlightened polemic .
• First, no organization or institution in the world moralizes as publicly or persistently as the Catholic Church on matters of sex and sexuality. Its rules and sanctions are severe.
Its sanctions are severe? Do Vinney and Guido pay a little visit after a sexual indiscretion? When Tom, was the last time a priest twisted your arm or dragged you to Confession? The reality is that unless one chooses to believe in her tenets, the Church can and will do nothing, to those who ignore her teaching or even those who rail against her. And Tom you left out the best part she will always be the first to welcome back those who has strayed and want readmittance.

Look guys. I am a victim of both sexual and physical abuse at the hands of nuns as a child and an attempted rape that was completely ridiculous and bungled when I was in college by a priest. What a clown he was!

The point is, as much as it hurts me to say this, this old farts are completely clueless company men that would do what any regional manager would do when his company's stocks are in the basement. That is lie, obstruct, drag red herrings across any and all trails of accountability and try to caste themselves as the victims here. This is fairly traditional organizational behavior when a group is struggling to survive.

I have not been a believer at Mass since I left seminary (31 Oct 1972) much to my mother and siblings' chagrin. But I have to say one thing in support of the Catholic Church. It is no more hypocritical than any other worldwide NGO that attempts and often succeeds in the corporal works of mercy.

The Catholic Church stinks. But so do all the other churches, NGO's and non-profits in the world selling salvation or redemption or even just "helping your fellow man". Nobody has clean hands. Nobody.

Organizations by their very nature become money games very quickly. It is unstoppable. Money and influence and power is what makes an organization work. Charity does not. You know that.

So what am I saying? I am saying that until pew Catholics themselves actually step out from behind the pews, commit and ad hoc coup and simply take over from the bishops, there is no possible hope that this will stop. These guys have power and influence and money that would make a Latin American or African generalissimo green with envy. Why?

Because pew Catholics have given it to them.

Just take back the power. Have the church run from the parish, not the Chancery Office. Just take the reins of power. See if Jesus lives then in the Catholic Church. It is worth a try.

Tom Barnes

Archbishop Dolan is a loose canon who may soon shoot off all his ammunition in front of a large and thoughtful Catholic population, doing widespread damage with his rants against "the press". He and William Donohue are insensitive ecclesiastic roughnecks who have no real place in the Christian community. Soon the term Christian may not be able to be able to be truthfully to these two egomaniacs. They both look like they are soaked in Scotch whiskey, and are as sharp tongued as Adolph Hitler. Maureen Dowd is a highly talented journalist who has carefully discerned the latest hypocricies of these ecclesiastical morons. God Bless You Maureen, and keep up your great work.

While I would not play the anti-Catholic card myself, the existence of anti-Catholic sentiment in this country is a historical fact. At least maybe you and your ilk will now see how foolish you look while constantly playing the victim card yourselves. Doubt it though.

This statement is absolutely wonderful: "If hypocrisy were the 8th sacrament, we'd have the holiest church in the world." Mr. Roberts, you made my day!

This has got to be one of the worst articles I have ever read. And it's not just because you are flat out wrong. It's more because it is an entire non-sequitor. You make no sense at all. I really cannot believe this publication is still in print with unthoughtful childish tirades like this that show absolutely no sense of logic or theological understanding.

Since when did you think that we should only have impeccable people serve as bishops? That has never happened... even with the ones hand-picked by Christ himself. You are living in a fantasy world. And it is a protestant fantasy world.

Really sad.

Thanks, Tom, for your truth-filled article regarding the media's coverage of the Catholic Church, its activities, its sins, its leaders and members. This is a balanced reflection! I too agree that the U.S. bishops and cardinals have diminished the sacramental life of the Catholic community with their reluctance and resistance of confessing their actions contributing to the painful experiences of sexual abuse with minors. I have lost much respect of the bishops and cardinals. I was educated within the Catholic culture. I am embarrassed by the power plays by those in the Vatican and the U.S. dioceses.

Mr. Roberts has spoken the truth, a truth which needs to be told. However, the very sad truth is most catholic bishops, if they ever get up the nerve to even read it...will immediately dismiss these truths as they will not be able to face it.

I know they have heard this before but I must say this reminds me of the story of the magical sword of Shannara, recounted to the bishops in Dallas by a most wise woman and therapist, Mary Gail Frawley ODea. What Tom Roberts has written here is much like the mythical sword of Shannara...Tom has handed them a sword by which much good could be done, if only the sword bearer can bear to look at the blade, which reflects all the good as well as unpleasant and hideous facets of ones being and not be destroyed by it, but these bishops and our church cannot see itself so fully revealed, in the truth of what Tom Roberts has written.

God Bless you Tom and may the grace of God enlighten all of us to heed scripture, the Gospel of Mark just yesterday warns us to be on guard against the scribes of the day, as they are consumed with their positions of power and prestige within the community. It is such pride which prevents them from hearing or understanding such truths.

Sins of the Father
Father Charles Newman, once head of the largest Catholic high school in Philadelphia, sits in jail after stealing nearly a million dollars. But as one family knows, he committed acts of evil far more chilling than that
By Richard Rys

Father Charles, from the Archbishop Ryan yearbook.WHILE THE FAITHFUL and holy gather in the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Art Baselice stands outside, bearing witness in his own way. He isn’t interested in prayers for Bishop Joseph Cistone, who is leaving Philadelphia to run a diocese in Michigan. He isn’t hoping to shake hands with the cardinal and all of the archbishops, who have come together on this summer afternoon for Cistone’s farewell benediction.

Surrounded by a handful of priest abuse victims and their advocates, he holds a sandwich-board sign bearing photos of his son, Arthur Baselice III, and two clerics, Brother Regis Howitz and Father Charles Newman. As a pair of clergymen head into the service, Baselice raises up his billboard. They look over for a moment, then move on. “See what I get?” Art says. “There’s a man of God. He turns his head.”

Back home in South Jersey, the ashes of Art Baselice’s son sit in a marble urn, surrounded by trinkets and photographs, as if part of a funeral that never ends. The man Art holds responsible is Father Charles, the former president of Archbishop Ryan, the largest Catholic high school in the city. With his wife and two children, Art would attend Saturday mass, and walk up the aisle to Father Charles, who would place the Holy Eucharist in their outstretched hands or on their tongues. Art is mostly bald now, and stocky, with the meaty hands of a prizefighter. He rarely smiles, and when he speaks, there’s an edge to his words, like he’s spitting them out — partly the South Philadelphia Italian in him, partly the ex-city cop. But his sharp cadence is mostly a reflection of what he can’t stop thinking about. “He started grooming Arthur the day he met him,” Art says of Father Charles. “Not only Arthur. He groomed us.”

That Father Charles was sent to prison in May for stealing more than $900,000 from his religious order and high school gives Art little comfort. In his mind, there are crimes for which the priest, and the Philadelphia archdiocese, haven’t been punished. His son is dead. So is his faith. As Bishop Cistone and his holy brethren worship inside the cathedral, Art tightens his grip on his sign, trying to make sense of how he — the ex-cop, the devout Catholic, the father — ended up here, and when his healing will begin.

This isn’t a story like so many that have surfaced since 2002, when the Boston Globe’s reports on Catholic clergy abuse tore apart that city’s archdiocese. Since then, tales of pedophile priests have been told by the hundreds, as other cities, including Philadelphia, began to examine the church in a way they once dared not. In 2005, a grand jury investigation launched by district attorney Lynne Abraham culminated in a 418-page report. The revelations it contained were horrifying. One priest molested a fifth-grader inside a confessional booth. Another raped an 11-year-old, then took her to a clinic for an abortion. Sixty-three priests were named in all, and the scores of children they violated would grow up battling addiction, suicidal thoughts and mental illness. But there is another group of victims and survivors — the families whose lives were ruined by depraved men cloaked in priests’ vestments.

To read the rest of "Sins of the Father," pick up the November issue of Philadelphia, on newsstands now.

Let the 'pope , dolan , etc expalin this to me.

MONDAY
November 9, 2009

MR. TOM, ONLY SOMEONE WHO HATES CATHOLICS AND WHAT THEY STAND FOR IS A LEVEL ABOVE YOUR VITRIOL AND LACK OF JOURNALISM

It is unfortunate that Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, new to the national stage and responsible for one of the most visible and potentially most influential sees in the nation, chose to play the tired anti-Catholic card so early in his tenure. His recent blog posting accused The New York Times and the wider culture of indulging in rampant anti-Catholic activity.

NAME CALLING
In doing so, he wastes the authority of his office by aligning it with such imprudent screamers as William Donohue and his Catholic League, which exists to raise money so it can continue to scream Fire! in the crowded theater of overcharged religionists.

YES, HIGH-PROFILERS LIKE THE LATE EDW. KENNEDY AND THE PRESENT NANCY PELOSI
The reality is, of course, that it is increasingly difficult to establish an anti-Catholic case of any substance or depth in the culture when so much -- industry, politics, finance, academia, the Supreme Court itself -- is in the hands of high-profile Catholics.

OF COURSE YOU UNDERSTAND, THAT’S WHY YOU WRITE FOR A CHEAP SO-CALLED CATHOLIC NEWSPAPER WHICH SUPPORTS AS MUCH ANTI-CATHOLIC PRESS AS THE SECULAR RAG.
One can understand the frustration of Dolan and others as church leaders attempt to regain some of the significant ground they've lost in prestige and credibility thanks to their conduct throughout the sex abuse crisis, financial scandals and complicity with such hierarchical nonsense as the recent investigation of religious women.

ONLY YOU UNDERSTAND THE MIND OF THE CATHOLIC BISHOPS, THEIR PURPOSES AND GOALS
The anti-Catholic narrative is a canard, however, another attempt to deflect attention away from what most of us in the pews and beyond know is long overdue: a deep, introspective and honest look at the culture of hierarchy and whether it begins to reflect today the mandates of the Gospel of the Suffering Servant.
The cry "anti-Catholic!" has become a cheap and easy accusation. No one can hold a bishop to account for the charge. No adjudicating body exists to measure the evidence. We're all left to measure it on our own, and I daresay most find the charge a pathetic attempt to deflect blame elsewhere.

GOODSTEIN’S ‘AWARD’ CERTAINLY COMES FROM THAT ‘PRESTIGEOUS’ ACADEMY OF RELIGION: WHOSE RELIGION?I have known Laurie Goodstein, one of the targets of Dolan's ire, as a colleague in the world of religion reporting for at least two decades. Her work could constitute a journalism seminar on how to cover that world. I find her scrupulously fair, and she spends more time on the ground than most doing the hard work of reporting. She's been chosen for an award from the Academy of Religion for an earlier series, sensitively done and deeply reported, about foreign priests in the United States.

THE DISTRACTION OF TOM ROBERTS IS TO SEND YOU OFF BELIEVING THAT ARCHBISHOPS AND BISHOPS ARE LESS CHRISTIAN THAN HE –BY JUDGING OTHERS BEFORE DOING A MEA CULPA ON HIS OWN BREAST.
Several members of the hierarchy, most notably Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver and now Archbishop Dolan, have attempted to distract our attention away from the severity of the sex abuse crisis in the church by pointing the finger at others -- at teachers, Boy Scouts, the culture at large, the press -- but it is an ineffective strategy. There are several principal reasons the church continues to come under scrutiny for its handling of crises and scandals related to sex, and none of them has to do with the press or an anti-Catholic culture.
• First, no organization or institution in the world moralizes as publicly or persistently as the Catholic Church on matters of sex and sexuality. Its rules and sanctions are severe.

MR. ROBERTS SEEMS TO HANG ON TO SEX, SEXUALITY, HOMOSEXUALITY AND THE ORIENTATIONS THEREOF; THIS OC OURSE MAKES FOR THE SCINTILATING READING ONE GETS AT THE CHECKOUT OF GROICERIES
On the matter of homosexuality, the church claims to know the mind and intent of God so intimately and perfectly that its officials confidently pronounce that a whole category of humans who have a homosexual orientation are intrinsically disordered and are forever condemned to a life of sexual abstinence in order to remain within the community.
An entire continent can face devastation from the AIDS epidemic, but the church refuses to budge on its absolute opposition to the use of condoms. It doesn't matter that even some bishops risk the wrath of Rome to beg that compassion be inserted into the equation. It doesn't matter that some women essentially face a death sentence in having sexual relations with their husbands. No breach of the rules can be tolerated.

ARE YOU FOLLOWING MR. TOM? IF IT ISN’T THE CATHOLIC BISHOPS, IT’S THE CATHOLIC PEOPLE WHO STAND AT HIS WHIPPING POST.
It is once and done for divorced Catholics. No mistakes can be tolerated. It's either perfection or don't remarry, and if you do, stay away from the Eucharistic table.
The love of married couples is considered illicit, unworthy of the church's approval unless every sexual act is open to procreation. Love is relegated to biological machinery, the prime principle of responsible parenthood is a breeding function.
The church is a severe taskmaster when it comes to human sexuality. Any organization so absolute in its rules and so unforgiving in its sanctions naturally invites scrutiny of its own conduct, particularly that of its ministers and teachers.
• Second, no organization on earth -- not other denominations or faith groups, not the Boy Scouts or teachers or families -- has the equivalent capacity and culture of the Catholic Church for hiding and protecting sexual abusers.
In those instances where internal church documents have been released, it is clear that bishops, cardinals, abbots and provincials went to extraordinary lengths to deceive the Catholic community and civil authorities. (That's why the Bishop William Lori of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Conn., fought to the Supreme Court to keep documents sealed; it's why Cardinal Roger Mahony in Los Angeles has spent millions in legal machinations attempting to keep documents secret.)Those entrusted as overseers of the community kept in circulation repeat offenders with little regard for the community's children or for victims' families. Married people, homosexuals and divorced Catholics may live in a once-and-done world of sexual rules, but members of the privileged clergy culture could commit sexual crimes time and again and find limitless second chances and understanding among their peers.
• Finally, in dealing with the sexual abuse crisis, the bishops have trampled the church's fundamental teachings on what is required for seeking forgiveness and reconciliation within the community.

FORGIVENESS? WHEN HE PUBLICLY ASKS THESE PEOPLE HE ASSAILS -FOR THEIR FORGIVENESS, AND DOES IT IN A COLUMN OF THE REGISTER, THEN YOU WILL HAVE THE COME-AROUND AND THE TURN-AROUND NOT JUST OF AM SUPPOSED CATHOLIC, BUT OF A HUMAN PERSON.
When it comes to laity, there's little tolerance for general sentiments of sorrow or ceremonies of general forgiveness. The church demands specificity, the sin must be named in order to receive absolution, we are taught, and egregious public scandal requires a public accountability.
We've seen none of that. No bishop has yet given a detailed report of his complicity in the scandal. No bishop has detailed, without being forced by public pressure or civil authorities, his personal culpability in the scandal. We've seen some moving reconciliation services, where bishops generally apologized for what was done to victims by priests; we've seen priests tossed unceremoniously and with little or no due process, to the sidelines; we've heard endless apologies for the fact that children were abused. But there's been no full voluntary accounting for what the hierarchy did in the church's name to hide predators, buy silence and re-victimize victims in sometimes vicious legal proceedings.
The bishops betrayed the community's sacramental life, and no amount of pointing the finger at others will heal that breach.
Everyone wishes this horrible period would come to an end. The scandal causes an endless drain of energy and distorts the life of the community. The realization remains that the leadership of the community has acted in a way it would not tolerate in anyone else and remains above church and civil law. That's what's truly anti-Catholic about this period of the church's history.

Thank you for speaking truth.
I now have a new peace because you said what needs to be said and heard by all.
My only personal addition is that i have come to learn that this is not just a difficult period in the life of the church, it is a culmination of a history of serious crimes against humanity that can no longer be covered up.
I have left the roman catholic church and found a loving God outside.
I never really bashed the catholic church (maybe for a while). I did bash myself for staying in a corrupted ,obsolete, hierarchal, inscestuous, institution. Waiting for it to change made me nuts.
Letting go of it made me whole.

An excellent piece of journalism. I am so proud that there remains in the Church some level headed persons, in this case, Tom Roberts, who refuse to let the bishops off the proverbial hook as they so desperately want to be let off. The moral and criminal wrong that they have done will not go away because they have not made amends. All they have done is dismiss a few priests who have been found guilty and train adults to recognize what they already knew how to recognize, namely, pedophiles, all so as to further protect their assets in future allegations of sex abuse. As Mr. Roberts so eloquently pointed out, they have lost a great deal of moral credibility and will not regain it without making amends. And the only way to do that is to give up the very power that they abused. They know it and refuse to do it and that is why this crime masquerading as sin will not go away. Are you listening Cardinal Law and now Levada too? Your Jerusalem skirts are still dirty and we can see your filth!!

Archbishop Timothy Dolan. Yes, Archbishop Timothy Dolan who entered the seminary at age 14 has now almost made it to the top. New York, center of the universe, at least the universe of media. Timothy Dolan from St. Louis giving instructions to the New York Times. Wow! And all the while using the language of Murdoch's New York Post. Maybe he's been dining with the astute Bill Donohue. Cry anti-Catholic and your cry is heard. Tom Roberts sounds like a major anti-Catholic writer. However, and there's a big however, he should employ a better p.r. company. As Tom Roberts says, this is cheap and you should never sound cheap in New York. Cheap may work in St. Louis, but not New York. People will stop paying attention.

Tom Roberts's reply to Archbishop Timothy Dolan criticizing The New York Times for anti-Catholic reporting is to write an anti-Catholic article on NCR???

Tom Roberts nailed it, no doubt. It is a brilliant analysis.

Unfortunately, many Catholics, including Catholic newspapers, journalists, periodicals, and others thought the clergy abuse scandal was over. NCR, America, Commonweal, and others mistakenly stopped "flooding" their publications with stories of survivors and abusers. Catholic organizations that originally supported survivors of clergy sexual abuse dropped abuse survivors from their radar. Yet, here we are, in 2009, reading editorials about the clergy abuse scandal which never ended or went away.

The clergy sexual abuse scandal will not go away...period! It will be with us forever, because abused persons will continue to surface when they are "ready" to surface. Those numbers are great. In addition, the same structures that created, enabled, and accelerated the sexual abuse of children by clergy are still in place, and getting more dysfunctional.

NCR needs to keep the clergy sexual abuse issue in its headlines and bylines for a very long time.

Ok... Is it illegal to be anti-catholic? It for sure is illegal to sexually abuse kids !!!!

I am really tired of listening about Dolan's defense of the Catholic church against the media. Does he truly have nothing else to do except write blogs? Why doesn't he use his time to minister to those who have been sexually abused by priests in his diocese? Perhaps if this had not been allowed and perpetrated, there wouldn't be such anti-Catholic feelings. When bishops, cardinals and even the pope lie and cover up to protect sexually predatory priests, there should be anti-Cathoic feelings!! When the hierarchy of the Catholic church pays out millions to lawyers to make sure that their reputation is protected, there should be anti-Catholic feelings. Dolan is lucky there isn't more!!

A powerful essay indeed. Ms. Dowd of the NYT, whose column prompted Archbp. Dolan's pique, is well-known for her snarky, often biting, commentary on a whole range of public figures and institutions. Her comments were a rebuke of the hierarchy of your church and a ringing defense of elderly sisters in the USA. A general attack, in the style of the Know-Nothings of old? No way. They would have said the entire lot of you are devilish minions of the anti-Christ, progressive nuns included.

While current headlines discuss your church's overtures (not benign in this writer's view)to my fellow Anglicans/Episcopalians, the real story of the last 2 decades is the emptying of pews in your churches. Could some of those departures have been caused not by the bogeyman of modernism/secularism but by a failure of your church to have a full, open and candid self-examination in the face of these sexual horrors and cover-ups. As a Christian from a tradition "of great spiritual value" (to quote the Vatican today) I don't feel confident that the hierarchy has ever been held accountable for anything, and many priests, without a smidgen of due process have been tossed to the winds.

Right on Tom, It couldn't be better said. Thank you.

It's interesting how Archbishop Weakland, one of the darlings of progressive Catholics in this country, carries much responsibility for the sex abuse coverup. *sigh* Weakland never wore a cappa magna, so I guess he's not evil like Cardinal Rode.

This article doesn't address the particular instances that Archbishop Dolan was referring to. I thought that anti-Catholicism also affected lay people, because the church is not reduced to its institutional structures. Maybe NCR is more clerical than it cares to admit...

Thank you for this truthful appeal Mr. Roberts. The leaders of the Church very much need to rediscover the fundamentals of the Gospel that Jesus Christ proclaimed. This past Sunday's readings were about how God always remains intimately close to those who are in want or need for the necessities or resources they lack and chides the legalistic scribes of the law who build themselves up on their own egos ignoring the concerns of the downtrodden.

I looked forward to hearing the homily for this beautiful Gospel, because presently my own family is struggling financially and I could see the Lord speaking to us in a very personal way in this particular account. Unfortunately we were running late this weekend and I had to visit a nearby church which is not my regular parish.

I hate going here because the pastor of this parish is so overwhelmingly conservative and partisan that it's hard not to say that instead of professing belief in one "holy catholic Church" this priest espouses that all subscribe and submit to the REPUBLICAN Catholic Church! His homilies are always driven against the evils and perils of the current age and how the Church is a society of the chosen set against the ignorance of relatavism. I remember for Good Shepherd Sunday he misconstrued a beautiful Gospel about how the Lord is our Shepherd Who provides for all our needs into a diatribe about how God is indeed our Shepherd but that the Church is a FENCE (particularly the office of the Magisterium) that He uses to keep those who belong to Him away from harm. This is the "us against them" mentality that compels Pope Benedict at every turn, not even preventing him from removing the idea of having a "smaller, purer" Church from his mind!

Anyway, he did it again. This weekend, instead of preaching how God is near to and present among those in need he completely ignored the theme of this Sunday's readings and instead began to preach against the trends in the current American culture, claiming that our society was moving away from an unhealthy fear of religion, "pushing religion out of the public square to support an athiestic agenda" Wasn't our nation founded on the conviction that religion should NEVER interfere in a nation's legislative processes and that the beliefs of all should be upheld and respected but not imposed on the entire nation?

This "Taliban Catholicism", as John Allen so rightly calls it, has poisoned the lungs of the Church that are supposed to be filled with the life giving impetus of the Holy Spirit. However, especially in our nation, it has become filled with shrill denunciations, partisan alignments, and rigid adherance to ideology instead of dialogue to reach consensus. Is the Holy Spirit that the Lord promised us only to dwell in one manner or direction, or does he lead us into ever new directions and infinite possibilities?

I hope and pray daily that the Lord will continue to renew and reform His Church by the abiding presence of His Holy Spirit, and that someday, the Church's leaders would not fear homosexual individuals,free-thinking and indepdent women, or any other individuals who may not fit the list of requirements that they have created for achieving holiness, but rather, see all creatures as beautiful examples of the Lord's design, made in His image.

Nice work...great article.

Perhaps, our Bishops and hierarchy should understand that any other organization in the USA that has a sex scandal like the RCC would be shut down and out of business by now.

Anti-Catholic...maybe; but as long as the Bishops do not truly repent for the sex scandal it is hard to say anything is more anti-catholic than their own deeds. Undeserved? Not if the full horror of the sex scandal is truly understood.

I doubt Archbishop Dolan is going to invite you to dinner soon...but he should!

Second thought...why don't you invite him?

Thanks, Tom, for this superb statement of what is so tragically true about the institutional rigidity, hypocrisy and dishonesty that make it so difficult to remain within this institution that has strayed so far from the teaching and example of the compassionate Jesus.

Tom Roberts pretty well paints the background picture of our Church today---all of surface activity of the Church takes place in front of this dark picture. So thanks Tom

One of the problems of Archbishop Dolan is that he exists in a culture that tells itself "we must keep secret our important doings--from finances to priest and bishop assignments to sexually unbalanced priests." And when anyone has the temerity to breach this secrecy they have to be attacked and scorned. It can't be all that easy this secret life but you get used to it and it becomes everyday; it is the story you tell yourself "at all costs we the shepherds tell our sheep 'nil nisi bonum.'"

We need more such denunciations of the Catholic hierarchy and they need to be inserted into each parish's bulletin like the bishops' denunciation of same-sex mariage is and was.

Dolan's article was in response to Dowd. You ignored the single most important bit of his evidence.

i hope all bishops of the usa read this article......
bravo tom roberts and the excellent work of the ncr

The words of Lord Acton in criticizing Vatican I's approval of infallibility (Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely) are true now more than ever by the action of today's absolutist bishops.

Archbishop Dolan's grinning face was on the front page of The New York Times on Thursday, April 16, 2009. Any complaints about pro-Catholicism?

This periodical ought to be renamed "the National Catholic Distorter". I read almost any Catholic news I can find and this publication time and time again betrays its love affair with anything that may be seen as dissident theology. How about embracing the Magisterium of the Church and our Holy Father...perhaps 2,000 years of guidance from the Holy Spirit might actually allow us the proper path...sure there have been bad mistakes. There have been bad bishops...bad decisions....but this is no reason to accept the rampant and blatant anti-catholicism we see on a daily basis in this country. It truly is the one last acceptable form of bigotry in this country. The author said this is a mute point because of the high number of "Catholics" in the public circuit. Most Catholics (NOT ALL) in this domain are only Catholic by name, not in practice, so there presence in public life is about the same as any non Catholic and adds nothing to his argument. If the bloggers here at the National Catholic Distorter are so adamantly against the teachings of the church, perhaps they might find a more "liberated" church in Episcopalianism/Anglicanism....although, there might be a slight reason why so many of them are coming back to Catholicism.

BS! Liberal catholics should be excommunicated!

You all should be excommunicated

The Catholic Church is NOT a democrisy

It is a crime not to cry "Fire" in a crowded theater when the theater is indeed on fire!

Tom Roberts, you sir an incomparable moron.

The central argument of this piece is that disgruntled Catholics can't be anti-Catholic, but that's as silly as Spike Lee's old idiocy that African-Americans cannot be racists. Maureen Dowd hates the Catholic Church and repeatedly has used her column to attack the Church, for — curiously enough — many of the EXACT same reasons Tom Roberts does in this piece. If someone hates the teaching of the magisterium of the Church and venomously attacks members of the hierarchy principally because they support the teaching of that magisterium, that's anti-Catholicism, regardless of whether they're Catholic. If this is not true, then by the same logic Tom Robert's next piece should be how Major Hassan Nadal couldn't possibly be anti-American because he is American… 

Great response. I tried to get this up on the Archdiocese blog, but they didn't post it.
Dolan ends his article by talking about his background in American history. It is a shame he hasn't studied the history of the Catholic Church. If he had, he would know that the church has a well documented fifteen hundred year history of priests sexually abusing children with the hierarchy covering it up. St. Peter Damian's Letter 31, "The Book of Gomorrah," written in the Eleventh Century deals exclusively with the rampant sexual abuse of children as well as the libertine habits of priests at the time. He lamented the failure of the hierarchy to take a stand. One would have to believe that if a church, that boasts some of the greatest minds of history, hasn't figured out in over a millennium how to stop the sexual abuse of children by its priests than maybe they don't want to and therefore deserve the derision they receive.

Jesus said, "Take the log out of your own eye before you attempt to remove the splinter from your neighbors." Since Dolan wants to cry FOUL, maybe he can explain his own foul in dealing with the victims. The good bishop recently visited Croton on Hudson which is the only parish in the country to have back to back pastors removed for the sexual abuse of children. Both pastors have been defrocked. The dioceses of Palm Beach had back to back bishops removed for sexual abuse, but Holy Name was the only parish where that happened to pastors. One would think that a man so concerned about his church would have extended an invitation to meet with the families of victims and seek redress while he was there dedicating a new altar. He made reference to the matter during his homily, but that was all he did. What a guy!

The most amazing thing about this is the hypocrisy. The lesson bishop Dolan needs to learn is that he should drop the "they're as bad as we are routine" and start striving to raise the bar instead of lowering it. If he wants his church to be a shining star, he should start by cleaning out the garbage. The day I pick up the NY Times and read that he has publicly criticized Cardinal Law for his actions and inactions in Boston or publicly criticized Cardinal Levada for his god-awful defense of bishop Ziemann, then maybe I will believe there is some sincerity.

This is a brilliant piece, Tom. It brought a lump into this ex-Jesuit's, ex-Catholic's throat. Thanks for telling the truth in such a masterful way. May you and your tribe prosper.

A parable for reflection.

When you move a stone and all the bugs scatter, can the bug castigate the rock, the sun, the "rock remover"? That exclusive colony under the rock thrives in the dark and the dank, the conviction that their world is all there is. They do not even have to deny the light.

The rocks, the shields - of secrecy, pomp, authoritarian pronouncement, "dis-memberment", political power, brain-washing theologies of education in both methodology and in content, norms elevated to absolutist theology, and yes, the contemporary and historical good works and values, all have allowed the hierarchy and hierarchical structure to survive. They have permitted the hierarchical structure to be perverse, to shield to deny, and even reward perversity - as long as the dark and dank was "all there is". As long as the little bugs, the you and I, believe, obey and never peek out to see that survival is possible "out there in the light". If any do and "tell" the "under-rockers" deny, "dis-member", ignore easily, repeat the curse of the light-that-is-not and go their way.

When the rock is moved, raised just a bit even, and little shafts of light penetrete, even for a moment - they curse the rock remover as they did their own, they still deny and curse the light-that-is-not but it is never quite the same again.

Antoniusminimus might self-deprecate in naming himself but he overstates his grasp of reality, or intellectual honesty. No, "little anthony", a racist African-American is not the same as a "dis-gruntled Catholic". Unless of course the African-American who critiques his own, like, say Bill Cosby, is a racist? Not likely!

Whether Maureen Dowd is anti-catholic or not is really beside the point, a separate issue. The real issue is whether there is or is not truth in what she says. Is it relevant whether the reps of the justice system who pressed for evidence of hierarchical knowledge of clerical sexual abuse were "anti-catholic", "disgruntled catholic". No. Is it relevant that those who denied, obfuscated about the abuse and demeaned the abused were predominently, even exclusively "faithful catholics", like say, bishops, archbishops, cardinals? I would say so. I Wonder who are the real "bigots" here,

If you can't stand the light being shone on the realities of your church institution then you, and your type have problems.

Well, Judas would certainly be proud of this article. Mr. Roberts attempts to poo-poo the charge of anti-Catholicism with an article full of...anti-Catholicism.

Historians will correctly write that the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church systematically aided and abetted serial child rapists. On a global scale. For decades (if not centuries).

Well, this article is definitely a rant. I know the frustrations, but the article is fundamentally biased to favor the populace frustrated with the Church. This isn't reporting...it's polarized opinion favoring the views of one group to the neglect of those with other views. The article seems to criticize the bishop for dropping the 'go to' word 'anti-Catholic' but it is guilty of the same flaw. These aren't new arguments or opinions. There's nothing in this that I haven't heard of or read in a hundred other places. These are 'go to' words that regurgitate the same opinions and arguments. Some of these opinions have some legitimacy...people are hurt by the Church and rightly should speak their frustrations, but if there's going to be any reconciliation, there's got to be understanding and dialogue on both sides, not polarization. And reconciliation is what this article claims to want. But is it really? I don't know, but that's why biased articles are polarizing.

Check some facts in the article: "It's either perfection or don't remarry, and if you do, stay away from the Eucharistic table." But did you know that the Church permits annulments in a marriage? Instead of a divorce, an annulment grants that the marriage never really happened because of the circumstances in which the couple were wed. What does marriage mean to people? I don't think that's a question we can overlook. The Church sees marriage as a union lasting for a lifetime. It's stability, it's security, it's about love. If someone is getting divorced and doesn't agree with the Church's position on divorce, why would they care about its position on Eucharistic communion? Let's not be piecemeal here. If you're going to write authoritatively about something, it makes sense that you should get the facts straight before writing it.

One more thing: the article writes, "An entire continent can face devastation from the AIDS epidemic, but the church refuses to budge on its absolute opposition to the use of condoms. It doesn't matter that even some bishops risk the wrath of Rome to beg that compassion be inserted into the equation. It doesn't matter that some women essentially face a death sentence in having sexual relations with their husbands. No breach of the rules can be tolerated." Once again, the Church invites people to its teaching...it is an authority figure in the world and it calls its ministers to not preach their own morality, but to preach the Gospel as the Church understands it. Who is the Church looking out for? The good of men and women! What do a bunch of celibate men have to gain from a no-condoms-teaching? It wants to prevent the spread of AIDS. And condoms aren't fail-proof. Why would someone run the risk of getting aids even if it's only a 1% chance to get it? It's playing Russian roulette with lives, and it's especially irresponsible if someone who knows he or she has AIDS still wants to have sex by using condoms...it's playing with people's lives. Sexual abstinence is not a punishment...it's looking out for the good of others. Is that our primary concern, or are we primarily concerned with our own pleasure regardless of our consequences to others?

I'll leave it at that for now. Thanks for the dialogue.

Wow...the NCR is sounding a lot like the NY Times and all the other papers out there who are engaging in the sport of Catholic bashing...and yes it IS anti-Catholic. NOT ONCE has Ms. Dowd made a distinction between the lay people and its good priests who have not abused children, and the bad ones. No, to her each and every Catholic is bad! Do I feel offended? Absolutely. She opens the door for every hater of the church to come in a slap the face of every Catholic. I've read one editorial after another calling Catholics, satanic, stupid, false, evil and other things. Some like Sinead O'Connor go so far as to say people should stop being Catholic and leave the church. So now a has-been Rock star is an expert? Come on! That's EXACTLY what the haters would love to see...the complete dismantling and destruction of our faith. Well...I say why should we should we leave our church? That would be throwing out the baby with the bathwater. If anything, we who are true, strong and spiritually mature Catholics need to stay, remain strong and be supportive of the GOOD priests who are obeying God's law...while demanding that the bad ones be punished. The bad priests are not the church... WE ARE the church and we need to take back our Church, not abandon it so that Protestants and secular humanists get to have their way!