Blog

Dear Bishops: Don’t Wait Until November to Take Action

“Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.” H. L. Mencken Mencken’s statement is, of course, caustic and not meant to be taken literally. Still if their social media postings are to be believed, many Catholics wish they could at least spit on their hands and hoist a black flag against a seemingly feckless leadership. As they process the terrible Grand Jury Read more…

By Elizabeth Scalia, ago

Hey USCCB, How About a Nationwide Holy Hour of Reparation?

Lots going on — lots of pronouncements, lots of calls to penance and prayer from the Church leadership, for instance. We layfolk have been keyed into the need for that for weeks, now, and are willing, although we’d like to see some real action on the part of our Bishops and Cardinals, and from the Holy Father in Rome, whose letter today…well, I was underwhelmed; perhaps your mileage varied. More on that tomorrow. For tonight, Read more…

By Elizabeth Scalia, ago

Dear Cardinal DiNardo & USCCB: Do the Right Things, and We Will Have Your Backs

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, President 3211 Fourth Street NE Washington DC 20017 202-541-3000 @USCCB Dear Cardinal DiNardo and US Bishops, Thank you for your recently-released statement addressing the revelations concerning both Archbishop Theodore McCarrick and the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report. Many American Catholics are grateful to read that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is committed to investigating, reporting on, and resolving questions and circumstances surrounding both issues. We Read more…

By Elizabeth Scalia, ago

Vatican: “The Pope is on the victim’s side.” Well, GOOD! But…

Two days after the release of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report on the gut-wrenching abusive incidents by clergy, and subsequent cover-ups by the leadership, the Vatican has released a statement via director of the Holy See Press Office, Greg Burke, that “expresses shame…the pope is on victims’ side”. Here is the full statement: https://twitter.com/matthewschmitz/status/1030187064736854017 I agree with Matthew Schmitz that the sympathetic words are well-done, but “the pope is on your side” strikes me as Read more…

By Elizabeth Scalia, ago

How Can We #RebuildMyChurch? Cardinal Wuerl Accidentally Points the Way

While it might seem that way, I’m really not trying to pick exclusively on Cardinal Donald Wuerl at this blog, but things…keep…happening. Last night I discovered that the Archdiocese of Washington, DC appears to have commissioned some PR help and created a website meant to support and/or protect the prelate’s reputation. You can find it here, at The Wuerl Record. This is the sort of action we usually see being taken by a Chairman of Read more…

By Elizabeth Scalia, ago

Let’s Fasten Our Seatbelts, Fellow Catholics…Gonna Be a Bumpy Ride!

You’ll pardon me for paraphrasing Bette Davis in All About Eve, but we’re going to be on a bumpy ride for more than one night, as we face a 900-page Grand Jury report out of Pennsylvania that has just dropped and may be read here. It will bring on a great deal of turbulence. God help us…it is unbearable. Cardinal Donald Wuerl, on the heels of an earlier statement, (an on whom a substantial measure Read more…

By Elizabeth Scalia, ago

7 Steps to Start Fixing the Messes, Before the Catholic Church Empties Out

For many Catholics, there is a sense that if the gates of hell are not prevailing, they are coming loose at the hinges, and bent at the bars. (Me, today) Even as I write this, more headlines are opening up, showing us the truly worldwide nature of the corruption within the Church. It is unbelievably disheartening to read this news out of the UK, or these horrific stories out of Chile, and understand that we Read more…

By Elizabeth Scalia, ago

BREAKING: Albany Bishop Scharfenberger Calls for Lay-led Commissions

I know I went on a little bit of a rant today about this, so it’s very heartening to see the statement just released out of the Diocese of Albany by Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger. Here is the whole statement: August 6, 2018 Statement by Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany: While I am heartened by my brother bishops proposing ways for our Church to take action in light of Read more…

By Elizabeth Scalia, ago

With all due respect, Cardinal Wuerl, No. Bishops Investigating Bishops Won’t Do

This morning comes breaking news out of NCR, that Washington DC’s Cardinal Donald Wuerl has proposed a “national panel” to investigate any serious allegation made against Bishops. And the panel would be comprised of, wait for it…bishops. “Would we have some sort of a panel, a board, of bishops … where we would take it upon ourselves, or a number of bishops would be deputed, to ask about those rumors?” he suggested. “It seems to Read more…

By Elizabeth Scalia, ago

Fulton Sheen, Laity and Catholic Leadership: If Called to Correct, Let us First Confess

Who is going to save our Church? Not our bishops, not our priests and religious. It is up to you, the people. You have the minds, the eyes, and the ears to save the Church. Your mission is to see that your priests act like priests, your bishops act like bishops, and your religious act like religious. – Fulton J. Sheen That quote by Sheen is what leads my column today over at Word on Read more…

By Elizabeth Scalia, ago