The Church "as a company of serpents"

[This, from theatlantic.com.]

Friday, 04.18.08

The Pope and the Scandal

Photo by Mandel Ngan for AFP/Getty Images

In a surprise move, Pope Benedict XVI met with a group of victims of sexual abuse behind closed doors in Washington D.C.

It was a small but important step. Pope John Paul II was famous for his public-relations savvy, his ability to turn the media's fascination with the papal office to his advantage, but in the sexual abuse scandal his successor has shown the defter touch. In his waning years, the previous Pope seemed to lack an appreciation for how deep the rot and outrage went, and the Vatican behaved as though the scandal had more to do with American media sensationalism than with the Catholic hierarchy's own sins. Whereas both as Cardinal and now as Pope, the soft-spoken German-born Joseph Ratzinger has been more forthright than his predecessor about the "filth" in the priesthood and more active in response -- and now, in his first trip to the United States since being elevated to the See of Peter, more willing to make the scandal a touchstone for his ministry, both in public and in private.

But a meeting like yesterday's should have happened much, much sooner, and that it did not speaks to a fundamental problem facing the Catholic Church today -- the extent to which the Vatican aspires to remain above the grubby, frenetic fray of modern life, even as its local representatives adopt the worst habits of modern business executives and politicians. At least part of Rome's unresponsive response to the sex-abuse scandal should be understood in the light of the Vatican's desire not to be perceived as a brand-conscious corporation, with a CEO-Pope overseeing regional managers -- or worse, an essentially political entity, obsessed with keeping the Papal approval ratings sky-high and the media narrative in its favor. But in this particular case, Rome's desire to preserve the Church's essentially mystical role in world affairs -- to avoid being sucked into the spin cycle of media sensationalism, and to maintain the Pope's image as shepherd and teacher, rather than chief executive -- left the Vatican blind to the reality that the men running the American Church weren't holding up their end of the bargain. They didn't need direction or wise counsel or even fraternal correction: They needed to be to be taken to the woodshed by an outraged, scandalized and engaged Papacy, and the discipline needed to happen swiftly and above all publicly. And because it didn't -- because in most cases bishops were allowed to get away with sacrificing the Body of Christ's most innocent members to protect, though of course only temporarily, their finances and prerogatives and reputation -- the Roman Catholic Church ended up looking like an institution prone to all of the evils of a modern government or corporation, but with none of the accountability.

Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and innocent as doves, Christ told his followers. But the Church during the sex scandals has often seemed like a company of serpents -- the American bishops, and the perverts they protected -- presided over by a company of otherworldly, out-of-touch doves. The Pope's words and actions this week are an important step toward changing that perception. But only a step.

— Ross Douthat