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96 pages

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The sex-abuse scandal, which has erupted anew in 2018, poses the greatest challenge that the Catholic Church has faced since the Reformation. In The Smoke of Satan, veteran Catholic journalist Philip Lawler explains why the crisis is even more severe than when it first commanded headlines in 2002, and how the failure of Church leaders goes all the way to the Vatican. In this unflinching look at the crisis threatening the Church and her members, Lawler: Shows how the sex-abuse scandal is not a question of pedophilia, but of homosexual activity within the clergy. Explains how Catholic bishops have developed a habit of covering up serious problems, to avoid the serious divisions that have developed within the faith since Vatican II. Demonstrates a catastrophic rupture in Church unity, causing a breakdown in morale and discipline among priests, bishops, and laity, paving the way for the current crisis. Reveals the growth of a faction within the Vatican that is ready to make peace with secularism. Details the charges in the explosive "Vigano testimony,"- and the efforts by Vatican officials including Pope Francis himself to ward off a thorough investigation. Concludes with a program for reform, led by faithful lay Catholics, demanding a new policy of candor and a forthright proclamation of Church teaching. This crisis, brought about by the failures of corrupt and cowardly bishops and clerics, has been allowed to fester long enough. It is well past time for serious action to be taken at every level before more lives are ruined, more souls are lost, and more fractures divide the Church. In these pages, Lawler details the problems besetting the Church...and lays out a clear plan to overcome them in order that the Church and Her members may once again thrive and bring souls to Christ.

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Philosophie et théologie

Catholic Church

Christian Church

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Publié par	TAN Books
Date de parution	27 janvier 2019
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781505113501
Langue	English

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The Smoke of Satan
THE SMOKE OF SATAN
How Corrupt and Cowardly Bishops Betrayed Christ, His Church, and the Faithful … and What Can Be Done About It
Philip F. Lawler
TAN Books Charlotte, North Carolina
Copyright © 2018 Philip Lawler
All rights reserved. With the exception of short excerpts used in critical review, no part of this work may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in any form whatsoever without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible—Second Catholic Edition (Ignatius Edition), copyright © 2006 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Excerpts from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America © 1994, United States Catholic Conference, Inc.—Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.
All excerpts from papal homilies, messages, and encyclicals Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana. All rights reserved.
Cover design by Caroline K Green
Cover image: The skullcap of cardinals and bishops, photo by Antonio Nardelli / Shutterstock
ISBN: 978-1-5051-1349-5
Published in the United States by TAN Books PO Box 410487 Charlotte, NC 28241 www.TANBooks.com
Printed in the United States of America
Contents
Publisher’s Preface
Author’s Note
1 The Smoke of Satan
2 The Summer of 2018
3 The Divisions Revealed
4 The Habit of Denial
5 With Apologies to the Martyrs
6 A Patrimony Squandered
7 The Worst of Both Worlds
8 The Cultural Revolution: The Enemy Without
9 The Limits of Tolerance: The Enemy Within
Conclusion: A Crisis of Leadership
Notes
Sources and Suggestions for Further Reading
About the Author
“Philip Lawler is one of the foremost authorities on the Catholic abuse crisis. His new book shows why. With refreshing honesty and deep faith, he describes how sexual, liturgical, and moral abuses intertwine. He also offers practical suggestions for how lay Catholics can respond to the crisis that should be taken to heart by all.”
Matthew Schmitz Senior Editor First Things
“Phil Lawler saw it coming. On my radio program in the early 90s, Phil predicted that a particular sexual misconduct case under discussion could easily lead to scandal as deep as anything we saw in the 16th century reformation era. He was right. With the summer of McCarrick, Vigano and the PA Grand Jury, the lay faithful are now galvanized as never before to finally take co-responsibility for the Church. Doctrinal disagreements thought settled under the pontificates of John Paul II and Benedict XVI have been reopened. Promises of curial reform and parish renewal have been broken. As a working journalist reporting on all these events for a generation, Phil sees a new Catholic moment for purification and renewal only if we will diagnose how deep the infection goes and stay radically faithful to the Divine Physician whose cure runs deeper still. Read this as a manifesto.”
Al Kresta President and CEO, Ave Maria Communications, Host, Kresta in the Afternoon
Publisher’s Preface
Y ou hold in your hands what is, in many ways, the most difficult book we at TAN have published since my family acquired the company in 2008. It is also one of the most important. The recent revelations about Cardinal McCarrick and the publication of the Pennsylvania Report have reminded all Catholics that something remains dreadfully wrong in our beloved Church. Though much progress has been made in the area of sexual abuse prevention and reporting procedures in most dioceses, fundamental problems persist in that area as well as others. The unpleasant truth stares us in the face.
For twelve years, I chaired a Diocesan Review Board for Allegations of Sexual Misconduct Involving Minors. Along with other board members, I have personally spoken with victims and alleged victims and heard their horror stories first hand. We interviewed accused priests and heard the honest denials of some and the lies of others. We found some allegations to be credible and others not credible. In some cases, we recommended suspension from ministry and laicization, while in other cases, we concluded the allegations to be false and defamatory. We dealt with both civil lawyers and canon lawyers.
On a personal level, the abuse scandal is something I have personally lived since 2002. I know first-hand that many good and honorable bishops have worked diligently to eradicate this sin and this crime of abuse from our Church. The statistics indicate much success has been realized. They should be highly commended. Their efforts and achievements should not be ignored because of the sins of others. Nevertheless, we have recently learned that some bishops were more involved in covering up for abusive priests than we previously knew. These individuals may never fully realize the damage they have caused, but the damage is real and extensive. There are a number of bishops who put the protection of reputations above the protection of children. They should be called to account just as the courageous bishops who did not should be lauded for their fidelity.
Throughout my many years of dealing with the abuse issue, I have asked myself what is the cause. I long ago concluded that sexual abuse was a symptom of a diabolical influence that entered the Church, the “smoke of Satan” to which Pope Saint Paul VI referred, for abuse and cover-ups on a scale that we have seen do not just spring forth from a healthy organization. Something beyond the abusive conduct itself must be at work.
In the following pages, noted Catholic journalist and author Phil Lawler demonstrates that what has occurred in the past fifty plus years in the Catholic Church constitutes nothing less than a massive betrayal: first and foremost, the betrayal of the poor souls sexually abused by men they looked to as spiritual fathers, but a betrayal in many other ways as well. Principally, what Lawler argues is that many bishops have betrayed God and the faithful by failing to, in season and out of season, fulfill the three fundamental duties of their office: to teach, to sanctify, and to govern.
The Betrayal of the Duty to Teach
While much progress was made following the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church , Catholics would have to have their heads in the sand to ignore the fact that a widespread ignorance of basic Catholic teaching remains the norm rather than the exception among much of the laity. The clearest indicator of this, as Lawler emphasizes, are the depressing statistics—both “official” in the form of studies, and anecdotal in the form of just taking a look around—of how many Catholics use birth control in their marriage.
One would rather not so often point to sexual sins as examples, and, perhaps sadly, we need not do so, for examples of a fundamental ignorance of or confusion about basic Catholic doctrine among the laity is all too obvious … again both statistically and anecdotally. Anecdotally, perhaps the strongest evidence is the fact that, in most American parishes, everyone or almost everyone receives communion every Sunday. And yet, if you visited the confession line on the Saturday afternoon when it is usually offered, you would see the priest and perhaps a small number of penitents, maybe one or two or three. That fact alone betrays a fundamental ignorance of the sacramental economy. The first duty of the priest is to bring Christ to the people and the people to Christ … in a phrase, to save souls. The “ordinary” way in which a Catholic priest does so is through hearing the sins of the penitent and granting God’s absolution. Why are not more priests in the confessional before every daily Mass as mine is? Why do not more bishops insist that they be there? As any priest who offers frequent opportunities for confession can tell you: “Offer it and they will come.”
The Betrayal of the Duty to Sanctify
Lawler’s chapter titled With Apologies to the Martyrs asks the question, What was different ? What inspired so many of the faithful in past centuries to abandon their homes and their families and go to distant lands to bring the gospel, to bring Christ and salvation, to strangers. What kind of homilies did they hear? What so impressed them that they recognized their own salvation was intimately connected to how radically they were willing to follow Christ in the love of God and neighbor. A bishop’s duty is to sanctify, his entire flock to be sure, but in a special way his duty is to sanctify his priests, who then, in turn, bring God’s healing and grace to a suffering world. We do have, today, a number of good and holy priests and bishops, on fire for the faith; however, we also see a number that seem apathetic about their solemn responsibilities or are too timid to carry them out, or, horrible to note, seem not to hold the Catholic Faith at all. There was a wonderful book published a number of years ago by Father George Rutler entitled A Crisis of Saints . When the bishops fail to sanctify their flock, but most especially their priests, that crisis, which in one sense can be considered the only crisis which ever afflicts the Church, will be all too evident. We need saints.
The Betrayal of the Duty to Govern
Here we can see a failure in two different ways. Many heterodox bishops have governed their dioceses effectively, with an iron hand one might say, and they have destroyed or nearly destroyed the Faith in those places for generations. And, sadly, too many good bishops have failed to adequately bring their dioceses under their control. They preside over a school system that fails to teach the Catholic faith, a chancery populated by dissidents, and, despite their own personal orthodoxy, lack the strength of will to truly govern as they should. Governance requires a strong hand and a willingness to make hard decisions and, yes, to be unliked