The Bishops Leave the Bunker
Analysis: Their retreat accomplished, the U.S. bishops remain under siege
.- The Archdiocese of Chicago’s Mundelein Seminary is beautiful. Set on 600 leafy acres, its buildings merge the aesthetics of the American Colonial Revival with the motifs of great Roman edifices. Its library is expansive. Its chapel is a gem. Mundelein is the kind of place that is hard to leave.
When their seven-day retreat at Mundelein ends Jan. 8, some U.S. bishops may be reluctant to leave the seminary. But if they are not eager to go home, the setting will not be the reason.
When they depart, many bishops will find their retreat did not bring an end to the siege under which they find themselves.
Once home, they will face the same questions, the same investigations, the same demand for answers that they left behind. And they will face the same impatience from Catholics across the country...
The priorities for the U.S. bishops are said to be establishing a mechanism for credibly investigating allegations of abuse, negligence, or misconduct against bishops; investigating the possibility of expanding the Church’s definition of vulnerable adults to include seminarians and others under the authority of bishops, and creating protocols for bishops who are removed or resign from their posts amid scandal or allegations.
The question, of course, is whether Catholics will wait.
Among the effects of the scandal has been a much broader sense of disillusionment and disenfranchisement from Catholics than was palpable in the aftermath of 2002. It is not yet clear whether the scandals of 2018 have impacted Church attendance or diocesan financial support. And, of course, for many Catholics the anger of last summer has abated. But episcopal leadership is under a new level of scrutiny in the U.S., and voices from across the ecclesial spectrum have been unrelenting in calling for change.
Labels: abuse scandal, Bishops
posted by jope @ January 10, 2019
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