Most priests are men who have sacrificed much in life to answer God’s call to serve God’s people. These good priests are also smeared with the horrible sins of the few.  More important than the few pedophile priests is the fact that those in charge chose to cover it up, to reassign those priests where they were likely to do it again. These leaders put the image of the Church, and perhaps their own careers, above the safety and health of our children. Some shepherds turned out to be wolves.

And it got worse. The Vatican’s attempt to blame pedophilia on homosexuality was some combination of maliciousness and ignorance. Homosexuality is completely unrelated to pedophilia. The Vatican seems to have no understanding of human sexuality.

We shouldn’t look to the Vatican for answers. They still can’t grasp the magnitude of the pedophilia crisis in America. The Vatican is a closed clerical culture of privilege from the middle ages, more concerned about power, control and image than service and ministry. The Second Vatican Council in the ‘60’s declared that the Church is the people of God – us. But today’s Vatican is back in the middle ages, out of touch with the Church.

Newly appointed Archbishop Sean Patrick O'Malley of Boston has shown great leadership in quickly and compassionately dealing with this problem. Bishop McGrath of San Jose is a good bishop; we hope he’ll do likewise. The church needs to open up all its activities to lay oversight. Secrecy is a breeding ground for abuse. The laity needs to step up to their responsibility in the church.

Although the Vatican has written many wonderful encyclicals on issues of injustice in the world, it cannot seem to look in on itself and recognize the same issues. Other churches have proven that married clergy make good ministers and that women are every bit as gifted and graced as men. Polls of Catholics around the world have shown that Catholics want married clergy and women priests. The Vatican’s recalcitrance in these areas is further evidence of an inability to provide leadership for the Church. For them, power is more important than people. It’s time for the people to take back the Church and make it faithful to the Gospel.
 

The Church needs active participation of laity now. GET INVOLVED!
 

Call to Action’s vision for our church: “CTA works for the kind of church personified by Pope John XXIII, glimpsed at the Second Vatican Council, and outlined at the U.S. Bishops’ 1976 Call To Action conference.”
 

“The church never changes”

If you hear a Vatican statement like “This has always been held by the church” you would do well to dig a little deeper. For example:

On slavery: The Ninth Council of Toledo in 655 declared that children of clerics were to be enslaved (This was an early attempt to enforce clerical celibacy.) In 1866 the Vatican said “Slavery itself . . . is not at all contrary to the natural and divine law.” A scant twenty-two years later Leo XIII said “From the beginning, almost nothing was more venerated in the Catholic Church .  .  .  than the fact that she looked to see a slavery eased and abolished which was oppressing so many people.  .  . Indeed the more slavery flourished from time to time, the more zealously she strove [to liberate slaves].”

On democracy in the church: Perhaps you've heard the Vatican say "The Church is not a democracy."  Jesus said “Earthly rulers domineer over their people.  .  . This must not happen with you. (Luke 22:25-27) Celestine I around 425 said “No bishop should be installed against the will of the people.” The Council of Toledo in 633 said “He whom the clergy and people of his own city have not elected .  .  . -- he shall not be bishop.” Leo IX in 1049 said “Bishops are to be elected by clergy and people.” Pius X in 1906 said “ . . . that the right and authority necessary for promoting and guiding all the members toward to goal of society reside only in the pastoral body (clerics); as to the multitude (laity), its sole duty is that of allowing itself to be led and of following its pastors as a docile flock.” And John Paul II said (before he was pope) “A loyal opposition is a necessity in any community.”

On Married priests: Peter, our first “pope”, had a wife. Celibacy was instituted in the 1100’s because of problems with priests’ children inheriting church property. There are 50,000 married priests in the Eastern Catholic rites which are under the Pope. And most priests in Africa and many in South America are married. "Do you want to be the one to tell God he was wrong to pick Peter?"

On women priests: Women are mentioned in the New Testament as presiders. Gelasius in a letter to the bishops of Lucania in 494 said “. . . affairs have come to such a low state that women are encouraged to officiate at the sacred altar.” So we know that women were "priests" for at least 450 years after Christ’s death.

And let’s not forget poor Galileo.
The book Rome has Spoken, edited by Maureen Fiedler and Linda Rabben is full of examples such as these.

For more information on:
The declining numbers of male, celibate priests: http://www.futurechurch.org/
Call to Action: http://www.cta-usa.org/
International  We are Church  movement: http://www.we-are-church.org/
Women’s Ordination: http://www.womenpriests.org/