How to fix the Church's problem with criminal sexual activity

Dear readers,

It’s been a very long time.  The demands of caring for an aging parent combined with those of traveling extensively for work provide precious few moments to write.  However, recent hubbub compels me to sacrifice a few moments of sleep to write.

At Mass last weekend, the priest spoke of the clergy abuse revelations in Pennsylvania and described it as, “the scandal in Pennsylvania.”  With 200+ dioceses and growing having abuse scandals worldwide, we are safe to call it “globally systemic” rather than confine it to any geographic area as if it were a surprising anomaly.  Let’s stop being shocked that the abuse is uncovered in yet another group of dioceses.  Let’s work to shine the light to expose it everywhere and fix it.

The pastor discussed the PA abuse scandal while defending the Lansing diocese’s decision to continue holding its “Made for Happiness” Diocesan Assembly in a few weeks despite this latest sex abuse scandal news.  Tragically ironic, the diocesan shindig will be held at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center, the basketball arena for a university recently publicly criticized for institutional enablement of a serial child molester, Dr. Larry Nassar.  Side note: Prior to prison, Nassar was a devout Catholic in the Lansing diocese.  The diocese could only be more tone-deafly insensitive if it asked Larry Nassar to speak at the assembly.

All this pissed me off but did not compel me to write.  No, no…it took former papal nuncio to the U.S., Archbishop Vigano’s recently published lengthy letter calling for Pope Francis’ resignation to do that.

Vigano, whilst self-righteously adjusting his imaginary halo, wrote that Francis knew about Cardinal McCarrick’s serial sexually abusive misdeeds and tsk, tsked at him for doing nothing.  Just a little aside here: Francis, Benedict, John Paul II, Paul VI, etc… all knew about and participated in abuse cover-ups too.  Why is Vigano ok canonizing JPII as a saint but wants Francis fired?  Regardless, let’s pause a moment to understand how news about sexually abusive priests gets from the US to dear old popes.  IT’S THROUGH THE PAPAL NUNCIO!  Vigano would have had knowledge not just about McCarrick but about EVERY SINGLE SEXUALLY ABUSIVE PRIEST reported to any Catholic official in the US. 

So, dear Mr. Vigano, you knew about McCarrick too and did not report him to civil authorities.  Nor did you report to civil authorities any of the sexual crimes priests committed against children during your tenure.  Therefore, please dispense with your political posturing for papal power until you first return your pointy hat, signet ring and blinged-out crosier to the “Shamed Bishops” department and tender your own resignation.  Thank you, ever so much.

I also cannot overlook noting that Vigano’s come-lately concern about sexual abuse was about …wait for it…not any of the thousands of kids molested by priests, even those suffering during his tenure…no, it’s only about sexual harassment endured by that precious subclass of humans which clerics believe sit above the rest of humanity, seminarians and fellow priests.  That speaks volumes.

As occurs following each scandalous revelation, there’s a flurry of advice on how to fix the church…female priests, ditch celibacy, laity takeover the church…whatever.  Please indulge me in offering my advice to the dialogue…oh, sorry, was dreaming for a minute there – that the hierarchy actually sought sincere dialogue about how to fix its systemic criminal activities.  Nonetheless, here are my thoughts.

It’s all about governance.  According to Canon Law, those who write the laws are the same who interpret the laws and are the same who enforce the laws.  That is a system destined for abuse and corruption – two longstanding trademarks of the hierarchy.

To add to their death-grip on all ecclesiastic power (Canon 223 and others), Canon Law includes several Canons that make it near impossible to overturn existing laws.  This is a trap that results from belief in their own perfection.  If you believe you are perfect, then how could you write imperfect laws?  And since you don’t write imperfect laws, why would they need to be overturned. 

Canon law divides humanity into lay people and clerics (Canon 207), setting clerics above laity (Canon 223, 247 and others) and actually demanding that lay people revere and obey their pastor because pastors are the best representation of Christ for lay people (Canon 212).  As a side note, Canon Law decrees clerical institutions such as seminaries to be ecclesiastical juridical people (Canon 238).  Yes, yes, seminaries are people too according to Canon Law.  As ecclesiastical people, they not only are people but more powerful people than ones of non-clergy flesh and blood variety.

This is all problematic in itself but then, the hierarchy do two additional insidious things: 1) They say you must receive Jesus via Holy Communion and 2) incarcerate Jesus in the tabernacle and declare only they can summon Jesus to dwell amongst us in the form of the Blessed Sacrament.  In simpler terms they in essence say, “you need what I got, or you die and I’m the only provider.”  A drug cartel could not wish for a better setup.

But wait, it gets more insidious.  Canon Law includes 12 Canons which codify obligations to maintain secrecy (Canons 127, 269, 471, 645, 983, 1131, 1132, 1455, 1457, 1546, 1548 and 1602).  Canon Law reflects the hierarchy’s normalization of its stunningly unhealthy culture of secrecy and court intrigue.  Transfer a priest from diocese to diocese in secrecy?  Canon Law says that’s ok.  Hold in secret things that the brotherhood doesn’t want to divulge?  Canon Law approves of that too. 

As Canon Law stands today a priest molests a child but the child is taught that this guy is the closest thing to Jesus the child is going to encounter on Earth and he’s the guy who will give the child the Eucharist, without which the child will be damned forever.  If the priest is reported, the hierarchy can deal with him and his trial in secrecy and transfer him in secrecy.  Meanwhile, the parents and kid have to worry if they report the guy, will they be shunned or excommunicated, cutting themselves off from what they are taught is their only chance at eternal life. 

Canon Law lacks checks and balances on power and depends instead upon a belief that men of superior moral ilk occupy positions of ecclesiastical power.  I think 2000+ years of history prove that assumption breathtakingly wrong.

Short of a major overhaul of Canon Law, instilling a viable set of power checks by offering ecclesiastical power to lay people in equal levels to clerics while also ridding it of codes of secrecy, obedience to pastors, a sense of clerical superiority over lay people, and hand-binding laws against fixing the laws, the church will not seriously or successfully address its issues of systemic abuse.

I hold little hope that the same men who write into law what gives them absolute power will voluntarily change those laws.  Withholding money and subjecting them to legal recourse have some effect.  However, I think that people just need to both openly challenge the hierarchy and make the hierarchy irrelevant in their lives.  This is easier said than done in some countries, but I believe it is essential to force change and protect children.

Side note: The Lansing Diocesan Assembly offers free admission, but you must pre-register.  Here’s a link in case you’d like to acquire tickets to use or dispose of as you see fit.  Their website indicates they offer free child care, and we all know what a great reputation the church has for taking care of kids.

When the clergy are the 1%

This might strike readers as unusual but sometimes I just don’t know what to say. 

Earlier this month I received an email from the Pontifical North American College (PNAC) inviting me to join its rector on a pilgrimage.  PNAC is the US bishops’ seminary in Rome.  Somehow, I do not think of myself as being on the PNAC’s “A” list for invitations to anything.  Nonetheless, I received the invitation. 

Maybe some readers would like to join the PNAC trip so here’s a link to the flyer advertising the trip. 

Receiving the invitation is not what left me speechless.  It was the pilgrimage’s description and price…$7,699 per person for a 9 night luxury cruise on the Mediterranean.  There is also an option for $12,399 per person for folks with more discerning tastes.  The flyer describes free-flowing champagne, butlers, room service, shoe shine service, spas and marble-clad bathrooms…you know…all the amenities Jesus had.  I am sure there will be reflection exercise on “where would Jesus cruise” and “what kind of marble would inspire Jesus to excrete.”

To put this in perspective, the global annual median salary in 2012 was estimated at about $1,225 USD.  Thus, the modest per person pilgrimage package, in the name of Jesus, is equivalent to about 6 people’s annual income.  About every day and a half on the cruise, each of these fine pious folks will burn through the equivalent of one person’s entire annual income.  The more luxurious package equates to 10 people’s annual income, burning through more than a person’s annual income equivalent per day. 

And I had no words for weeks.

Thankfully my words have returned.

It is one thing to opt to spend money in this way.  It is another thing to think somehow you are closer to Jesus by lavishing the equivalent of people’s annual income on yourself each day for a course of 9 days.  It is yet another thing to do this as a priest, who theologically I am told intrinsically reminds me of Jesus and operates in persona Christi.  But it is beyond the pale to be the rector of a premiere Catholic seminary, responsible for forming priests for an entire nation and undertake this kind of extravagance.  But hey, they will say Mass every day aboard the cruise ship. 

Pope Francis, this is all happening in your backyard.  Can you do something about that?  You are scheduled to meet with the rector a few days before his trip because this “pilgrimage” is all timed around diaconate ordinations of PNAC transitional deacons.  I hope everyone has their Gucci chasubles back from the cleaners for the occasion.

In this same timeframe, two priests in my diocese have been arrested for embezzlement, one from my parents’ former parish and the other from my sister’s former parish.  Here’s a link to information about one and the other.  Both are accused of embezzling several hundred thousand dollars and one seems to have embezzled about $1.85M from parish coffers to pay for his rather grand gated residence.

The bishop and his staff are said to be fully cooperating with police and both priests may well serve prison time.  The bishop has been on television regarding at least one of these priests, explaining he is a sinner who succumbed to temptation.  He asks the good people of each parish to withhold judgement until the criminal justice systems plays out…innocent until proven guilty…though in each case it was the diocese’s audit that surfaced suspicions which prompted the bishop to call the police.  So, the laity are to withhold judgement but evidently the bishop already suspects guilt, or he would not have turned these guys over to police. 

I find it peculiar that the rector of PNAC goes on a cruise for over $850 per day (not including airfare) and we call that a “pilgrimage” and sprinkle all sorts of holy awe around it whilst two other guys from the same brotherhood merely did stuff like take about $844/day and $228/day respectively (if you average $1.85M and $500K over 6 years’ time.) To me it is two sides of the same coin.  The embezzlers are a bit of a bargain compared to the rector.  I guess these guys saw their superiors living marble-clad lives and just went about securing that lifestyle for themselves the wrong way. 

In general, I think the PNAC pilgrimage involves more moral bankruptcy than the two embezzling priests.   With the embezzlement situations, most likely people gave money innocently albeit incorrectly thinking their money would be used for good causes.  In the case of the PNAC cruise, people knowingly are paying for themselves and the rector to live in luxury, deluding themselves that this equates to pious devotion. 

Truly, I believe the best chance of encountering Jesus on the PNAC cruise might be in the experiences of very likely underpaid cruise employees serving as butlers, shoe shines and wine stewards.

In both the PNAC and embezzler situations, it seems a clamoring to live like the 1%.  Though I probably would fail to answer correctly the question, "which marble inspires Jesus to poo," I will go out on a limb and guess that "what would Jesus do" does not involve butler service.  I've been looking for the gospel passages where Jesus said to lavish upon one's self and ignore the poor.  Alas, that only seems to be in the gospel according to Paul Ryan and the Mighty Pious Catholic Republicans.  Have mercy on us!

Might I suggest that they follow Sia's advice and pursue "Cheap Thrills" that "don't need dollar bills to have fun...?"  It avoids scandal and might help eliminate prison time...provided there's not a sexual impropriety issue as well.  Just a suggestion...

Without cost have you received; without cost shall you give (MT 10:8)

I must offer a deep respectful bow in the direction of Opus Dei Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne, archbishop of Lima, Peru.  The best I can tell, he unabashedly stands for what the Roman Catholic hierarchy is all about…money.

Last week I visited Lima and tried unsuccessfully to visit its cathedral.  Here’s a recap of my effort.

Cashier: (As I tried to just walk in the church door.)  Excuse me, you must buy a ticket.

Me: A ticket?  For a church?  I’ve visited many of the greatest cathedrals in the world and never paid. 

Cashier: You have to pay to visit the Religious Art Museum.

Me: We don’t want to visit the Religious Art Museum.  We want to visit the Cathedral.

Cashier: The cathedral is only a church when there are services.   The rest of the time it is a museum.  It’s free only when there are services.

Me: (Thinking any cathedral I’ve visited has oodles of services) Well, when is the next service?

Cashier: Saturday (This was Monday, by the way.)

 Me: Saturday?  When does the cathedral have services?

Cashier:  Saturday and Sunday mornings only. 

Canon 1221 states, “Entry to a church at the hours of sacred functions is to be open and free of charge.”  This leaves the option to charge for things like sacred music concerts offered in a church.  One probably assumes a cathedral for an active bishop has many hours of sacred function.  But Cardinal Cipriani has whittled his cathedral’s sacred function times down to 2 Masses: Saturday at 9 a.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m. He even schedules confessions to occur during Sunday Mass, conveniently minimizing those pesky hours of sacred function which interfere with making money.

To put this in perspective, in all my travels visiting Cathedrals and famous Catholic Churches throughout the world, the only times I have ever paid an entrance fee to visit a functioning Catholic Church were my visits to the Vatican museum which included stops at the Pope’s private Sistine Chapel.  St. Peter’s Basilica, St. John Lateran, St Peter in Chains, St Paul, St Mary Major, St. Paul in Rome?  Free, free, free, free, free and free.  Holy Cross, Santa Maria del Fiore, and Holy Spirit in Florence?  Free, free, and free.  Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur in Paris?  Free and free.  St. Patrick in New York?  Free. 

Perhaps I have successfully visited all these other Catholic Churches without price because, primarily functioning as churches, they all frequently offer Masses and other services every day.  However, at 2 Masses per week, each of which at a generous estimate might account for 4 hours, it seems Cipriani’s cathedral functions as a church, at most, 8 out of the 168 hours in a week.  That’s less than 2% of the time.  I suspect he takes advantage of tax breaks given to churches 100% of the time, though.

Who knew that when reading about the Cathedral and the Religious Art Museum, I was actually reading about the exact same building which miraculously varies identity and function relative to day and time.  Through some never previously revealed building transubstantiation process, it seems his cathedral can agilely flip its functional character back and forth.  As much as Cardinal Cipriani blusters against moral relativity, he seems to support building function relativity enthusiastically.   

Though Cipriani supports building functional relativity, I’m not sure Canon Law does.  According to Book IV, Title I, Caput I of Canon Law, cathedrals must be dedicated as sacred spaces and undergo an even more elaborate process to turn them from sacred spaces to ones for profane usages like that of a museum.  Yet, somehow the Cardinal manages to do this on a weekly if not daily basis with his cathedral.  Maybe the cathedral’s two Masses begin with a dedication service and end with a decommissioning one? 

Does that mean that since his chair of authority (cathedra) spends most of its time in a museum it is an historical artifact versus a functioning cathedra?  Does he speak and teach with authority only during the two Masses per week in which the building housing his cathedra actually functions as a church, 2% of the week?  Does that make him a cardinal only 2% of the time and a museum piece 98% of the time?

Cipriani’s focus on money does not stop with turning his cathedral into a revenue-generating museum.  He holds personal and diocesan shares in Yanacocha, a controversial mining company with a gold mine in the poorest province of Peru that poisoned about 900 people in 2000 via a mercury spill and introduced high levels of cyanide into the local water supply amongst a population mostly lacking funds to purchase bottled water.  Cardinal, by any chance, do you wear a “WWJP” bracelet?  “Who would Jesus Poison?”

Maybe in comparison to his gold mining stock, the $10 USD admission to enter his church seems like kittens’ play.  However, with a $118 USD average weekly Peruvian wage, $10 USD is not a small amount. 

Cipriani, a critic of moral relativity while exhibiting morally questionable behavior, regularly writes and says sexist things, has been barred from contributing to certain periodicals after he was caught plagiarizing two popes’ writings, has his hands dirty in not properly addressing clergy sex abuse, and denounces homosexuality, social movements and environmental activists.  So, maybe he falls short in most clergy requirement areas like advocacy for the poor, compassion, decency, honesty, protecting children, etc… But, baby, he is rock solid in the profiteering category!  He gets an A+ there, for sure.

As much as we suspect so many hierarchy members are all about money, they at least give a good show of effort by having things like daily Masses. That might fool some people into thinking they actually care about God’s people.  Not this guy!  He lays it right out there.  “Show me the money!” 

In fairness, the guy has his positive points.  It costs money to erect and illuminate the huge Jesus statue and cross, both of which can be seen for miles around Lima, especially at night.  Also, for $10 USD, you can get a combo ticket and tour his palace as well as the cathedral…such a bargain! Maybe, deep down, he really is sensitive to people’s economic concerns.

At this point the Pope Francis fans might be wondering, “Yes, but what does Pope Francis think of all this profiteering at the expense of the environment and poor people’s health?  What does he think about a guy who operates a 2% cathedral/98% museum?”  In 2014 Pope Francis appointed Cipriani to his newly formed Papal Council on Economic Affairs.  Evidently, Pope Francis thinks this guy is just a little bit of alright…actually someone to lead the way on how to handle money in the church.

So, hats off to Cipriani for openly operating as a money grabbing cleric.  His honesty demonstrating the primal importance of money amongst the hierarchy is refreshing…albeit contrary to the gospel and in no way reminiscent of Christ.

More realistic Christmas Carols

Merry Christmas!  I hope everyone is enjoying this joyous season.   

One aspect I love about the holiday season is the singing.  However, I have to admit that it bothers me how unrealistic Christmas carols are.  They paint some romanticized picture of Jesus’ birth wherein Mary does not break stride or even a sweat to deliver her baby.  They conjure images that are absent the various bodily fluids or physical sensations of human childbirth.  Yet, many Christmas homilies will emphasize the very important theological facet of Jesus being fully human.  Why then do we sing songs that omit the human realities of birth and go so far as to paint a false picture of what it was like for Jesus to be born a human child?

The lyrics to Silent Night were written by Josephus Mohr, an Austrian priest.  Let us pause for a moment to estimate how many priests throughout history have witnessed human childbirth from labor to delivery.  Let us also estimate how many current Catholic hierarchy members have ever seen the inside of a delivery room.  Were we counting on our fingers, we wouldn't need to use both hands, possibly not even all five fingers of one hand.  Suddenly, the propagation of unrealistic, romanticized, sanitized lyrics of Christmas carols becomes clear.

Let’s also pause a moment to offer some contextual information regarding childbirth since some folks reading this might also be unfamiliar with the realities of childbirth.

• Bloody bodily fluids flow abundantly … to the point that many a modern day father who attends their child’s delivery must sit lest they faint from the shocking sight.
• Contractions produce varying amounts of discomfort from mildly intense pain to what is called “back labor” where the child’s head is turned where its skull scrapes along the mother’s backbone with every contraction.
• When the mother begins pushing for the ultimate delivery of the child’s head, it is called “bearing down.”  This carries similar involuntary intensity as having an urgent yet constipated bowel movement only it lasts much longer.  It is of small wonder that during this process, some mothers have a bowel movement which covers the child as it is being delivered.
• Most women delivering their first child will experience vaginal tearing; their flesh will rip open, sometimes all the way to the anal wall.  In modern times and medical facilities, this can easily be repaired with numerous stitches that will make sitting and performing excretory functions extremely uncomfortable for several days but prevent the mother from bleeding to death.  However, in Jesus’ time, this along with other common complications are what made childbirth a leading killer of women.
• The baby emerges covered in blood and a waxy substance
• Nursing a child for the first time is very painful for most women.  Though the little darling you just delivered is toothless, he/she has very hard gums and chomps down on the mother’s nipples with gusto.  Many mothers will bruise on their nipples, something they likely never knew was possible.
• Though now some of the pains associated with childbirth can be dulled, Mary did not have the benefit of these pharmaceutical marvels.

Instead of portraying these realities of the mess, pain and danger of childbirth, Christmas carols draw imagery of Mary without her veil or possibly dress ever moving out of place.  They also fail to acknowledge the physical danger into which God placed Mary by impregnating her whilst being betrothed.  In her times, betrothals occurred often when girls were quite young followed by fully consummated marriage around age of 14 or so.  Betrothal was a strong commitment as sort of a non-consummated marriage and a woman found to be pregnant by someone other than her betrothed was considered guilty of committing adultery, an offense punishable by stoning. 

As an aside, I find myself contemplating possible connections between birth control and abortion, and fixations on the Annunciation story where an angel tells the Virgin Mary she’s going to be overshadowed by the Holy Spirit which will impregnate her.  The story is often preached as Mary saying “yes” but if you read the actual scriptural text, there is no question presented to Mary.  The angel says, “this is gonna happen.”  Mary agrees but that does not seem to matter.  Her body is going to be exploited for reproduction regardless of her consent.  Herein seems to lie a foundational element of theology objectifying women by viewing them primarily as passive receptive vessels for bearing children.

Pope Francis’ annual Vatican Curia Christmas excoriation this year included his wishes for increased respect for women.  That needs to include revisiting and correcting centuries old theology which objectifies women as mere tools of reproduction.  It also needs to include stopping the dehumanizing propagation of unrealistic understandings of women’s key experiences such as childbirth.  Therefore, I decided it was a timely moment to write more realistic lyrics for a few songs associated with Advent and Christmas.  I hope you enjoy them.

Immaculate Mary II (to the tune of “Immaculate Mary”) – a song sung during Advent, especially for the Feasts of Our Lady of Gaudalupe and the Immaculate Conception

Immaculate Mary, your praises we sing

But they want women docile so turned you into a wimpy thing

Ave, Ave, Ave Maria. Ave Ave Maria

You got impregnated while you were betrothed

Though you knew you’d be stone if ever exposed

Ave, Ave, Ave Maria. Ave, Ave Maria

But you’ve been reduced to a dainty little vessel

Despite being tough as a mortar and pestel

Ave, Ave, Ave Maria. Ave, Ave Maria

“Stressful Long Night” (to the tune of “Silent Night”)

Stressful long night, holy night

Push baby out with all of your might

Vaginal tearing to thy anal wall

Lots of pain with no Demerol

Pleas for this pain to cease; Pleas for this pain to cease

Stressful long night, holy night

Shepherds quake at the sight

Blood just streams as if hacked with an axe

Holy Infant covered in blood and wax

Christ the Savior is born; Christ the Savior is born.

Stressful long night, holy night

Son of God nurses with a bite

Radiant pain from chest to bottom

Shooting pains you previously did not fathom

Jesus Lord at thy birth; Jesus Lord at thy birth

“Away in a Stable” (to the tune of “Away in a Manger”)

Away in a stable, no hospital bed

Mary labors ‘mongst critters instead

The stars in the sky are the only light

By which to deliver her baby that night

The cattle are lowing and wafting their smells

But who really notices as Mary yells

She squats and bears down and out comes some dung

Along with the baby from her which is sprung

Be near her Lord Jesus, I ask you to stay

To re-humanize her and aptly portray

Your mom as a person of strong grittiness

And not a docile vessel who simply said “yes.”