This article reports that cardinal Daniel DiNardo (photo above), president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, covered-up for predatory priests. Is there an American Catholic bishop who isn’t personally involved in this scandal?
- What Catholics can do who’ve lost faith in their bishops and even the pope
- Sheep Without Shepherds: For ordinary Catholics, the failures of their leaders have created a two-decade test of faith.
In Catholicism, with its top-down hierarchy, the pope and his cardinals, bishops, and priests have always called the shots. The laity have always had the responsibility of keeping their mouths shut and doing (and believing) what they were told. But now that the hierarchy has proven to be totally corrupt, what are the laity to do? See me after class and I’ll tell you about the Good News of salvation by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.
Here we have ANOTHER book written by a disaffected conservative Catholic that’s extremely critical of pope Francis. My copy is arriving Tuesday. Where are the evangelical apologists who should be critiquing Catholicism’s current double-crisis (the predatory priests/cover-up scandal and the growing dissatisfaction with Francis)?
Pope Francis and his progressive allies have had enough of conservative Catholics questioning their every move. Censorship is nothing new in Catholicism. Up until recent times, Catholics were forbidden from reading religious material that didn’t have a “Nihil obstat” and bishop’s “Imprimatur.”
The LGBTQ community is tirelessly advancing its agenda.
My wife and I stopped attending mid-week, small group meetings last May. Small groups can be a blessing or a source of tension. We may sign up for next semester (Jan.-May) with a different group depending on the status of my wife’s health.
excatholic4christ 
Sorry the small group didn’t work out Tom. I have been thinking if starting one but we still have Wednesday night Bible Study so I dunno
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Thanks, Wally. I briefly thought about posting on our 18 month experience in a small group, but I decided against it because it would have gotten into some personal issues involving others that don’t need to be aired. Small groups can definitely benefit those involved, like with helping to apply the week’s sermon message to real life and with opportunities to be of service to the others in the group, so I’m somewhat open to trying again down the road. But there are some personalities (in the flesh) who do not do well in a close group setting. I’ll leave it at that.
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I can get that, Tom. I am not sure I would really thrive in one to tell the truth. I tend to be really hierarchal in my nature, and like things really clearly defined. As in, that guy teaches, I am a student, or I teach and everybody else is s student. Free flow, loose fully interactive situations are not my cup of tea. I don’t mean social situations, I like those fine. I mean “official” type things trying to be fully interactive. Did any of that make sense? I guess what I really mean is that my nature abhors a vacuum, and I tend to want to fill it. If somebody is in charge I will gladly follow; if nobody seems in charge I will eagerly take that place too.
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I get where you’re coming from, Wally. That was also one of the issues for me. I like our church a lot for several reasons, but the teaching is not as doctrinally strong as I would like it, coming from my fundamental Baptist background. As a result, members of the small group were all over the place theologically. I attempted to take a stand on a few things, but such behavior is not welcome. So, in order to “keep the peace” during discussion time, I had to accept skimming the surface doctrinally and grinning and bearing it many times. As I know I’ve mentioned to you previously, I’m somewhat of a square peg in that I’m too “liberal” for fundamentalist churches and too “conservative” for the “progressive” mega-churches.
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Wow, you’re right, brother, evangelists should be using these two issues as an opportunity to share the Gospel with Catholics. I thank our Lord that you have this ministry to encourage us all in that area!
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Thanks, Jimmy! I appreciate the encouragement and I keep in mind that the widespread accommodation and compromise with Rome is no surprise to God.
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Whoops! Sorry, sister! I’m definitely overtired this week wearing two hats, my wife’s and my own.
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1.) “Daniel DiNardo (photo above), president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, covered-up for predatory priests”
What shame. I am sad that the outrage isn’t stronger.
2.) “See me after class and I’ll tell you about the Good News of salvation by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.”
Amen!
3.) LGBT agenda is advancing everywhere
4.) “Censorship is nothing new in Catholicism. Up until recent times, Catholics were forbidden from reading religious material that didn’t have a bishop’s “Imprimatur” and/or “Nihil obstat.””
Its crazy most of my generation probably don’t even know that
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Thanks for the good comments!
RE: why the outrage isn’t stronger.
The scandal has dominated Catholic headlines in a big way for over six months with one revelation after another. With thirteen states currently investigating the priest abuse and cover-up as well as the DOJ entering into the mix starting in Pennsylvania and New York, the scandal is going to continue to rock the church for a very prolonged period. I’m only speculating, but I could foresee the American Catholic church eventually losing a noteworthy percentage of its active members – maybe 10 or 15% – because of this current scandal outbreak. I see pockets of outrage among the Catholic laity, but they’re so used to being manipulated by the hierarchy that they don’t know how to react now that the hierarchy has been proven to be corrupt except to stop going to mass.
RE: censorship
Oh, yes. I can remember as a young Catholic in grammar school being warned by the nuns to never read a religious book that didn’t have an “Nihil obstat” and “Imprimatur.” For a Catholic to read a religious book without the censor’s approval was a mortal sin.
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Honestly I’m hoping to read more news of priests going to jail as a result of these investigations…for the sake of justice
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Yes, the crime is so monstrous. It’s so wrong that for many states, like here in New York, the statute of limitations applies in these cases, and the priests will go scot free.
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Sad. I can’t imagine the justice they will face with God one day…
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True. In the past, Catholic apologists tried to minimize the scandal and the percentage of pedophile priests, but these state and DOJ investigations will thoroughly debunk all of that. The problem was widespread and can be linked to the church’s rule of obligatory celibacy which attracted and fostered deviants.
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