A Failing Episcopal Establishment

Aug 17, 2018 by Jill

by R R Reno, First Things:

We are witnessing the collapse of the episcopal establishment in the United States.

In one sense, the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report tells us nothing we didn’t already know. But it spells things out in inescapable detail, in a series of case studies complete with diocesan memos and letters from bishops.

The lurid details of the actions of predatory priests are troubling. But still more troubling are the evasions of responsibility by those in charge—including, in some instances, secular authorities, who in the 1960s tended to cooperate with Church leaders in keeping things quiet. Well into the 1980s, bishops and their staffs were still employing the old techniques: shuttling malefactors to remote dioceses, stonewalling civil authorities, and working hard to “avoid scandal,” which means keeping secrets and minimizing accountability.

Read here

Read also: The abuse crisis casts doubt on the whole post-Vatican II settlement by Matthew Schmitz, Catholic Herald

Watch: Anglican Unscripted #429 – The Shame in PA