Chaos in the Catholic Church: A Call for Reform

By R. John Kinkel, PhD

The Catholic church has been in decline for several decades. Whether one examines the priest sexual abuse crisis, Mass attendance, leadership failures, or the worldwide priest shortage, Dr. Kinkels message is clear: reform is needed. There is a sexual abuse problem and leaders did not deal with it effectively. We find a 'code of silence', missed reform opportunities, and the underlying mismanagement of the chaos. After documenting the cover-up by bishops and others, The Decline of the Catholic Church points out the contradiction: bishops protect the devious priests and the church's reputation versus the need to protect children and prevent molestation in the future. The book developes a very plausible explanation as to how the sex scandal mushroomed in the 1970s and why it is now apparently declining. There is a priest shortage (the church is short 150,000 priests worldwide based on 2002 statistics).

Instead of seriously examining data on church problems, bishops attack research analysts who predict what the shortage of priests will look like in 2015, if nothing is done to alleviate the problem. Kinkel suggests that the bishops ordain married deacons to the priesthood when feasible (there are 13,000 currently). Secondly, married men and women should be considered for ordination. Instead the bishops import foreign priests (Chicago's data: 50% of incardinated priests are foreign born) as a stop-gap measure while praising celibacy. There is an organizational problem in the church. The church is run by old men who espouse conservative ideologies that fail to address modern problems. The book compares global retirement trends in corporations versus church practice and finds that the Catholic church is about 15 years out of sync. They must retire church leaders earlier, and have term limits for bishops and popes.

There is a need for regular general councils which have historical precedence. This is so because the present power structure of the pope and curia makes too many mistakes, e.g., birth control, bishops' cover-up of sex abuse, Banco Ambrosiano scandal which cost all parties millions, 10 years to agree on English translation for scripture readings at Mass, etc. Regular calling of councils can shake up this lazy monopoly. Lastly, Kinkel gives the most comprehensive analysis of the priest shortage in the U. S. and why this is the most serious problem the church faces, not the sex abuse crisis. The church is in the antechamber of Reformation II. Catholics are losing faith.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 13, 2005
• ISBN: 9781462839124

R. John Kinkel, PhD

R. John Kinkel is president and CEO of Research and Consulting Services, Inc. He has published numerous articles and chapters in books while teaching at the University of Michigan and Wayne State University. After receiving his Ph.D. from Ohio State University he has directed various research projects on white collar crime and adolescent health. He has made presentations in the U.S., Canada, and Europe on a variety of topics including physician misconduct, drug abuse and health care. He lives with his wife, Norma, and their two children in Southeast Michigan.

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Copyright © September 2005 by Research and Consulting Services, Inc.

Quotations from Goodbye Father by Richard Schoenherr used with permission of Oxford University Press. Copyright 2002.

Material from When Religion Becomes Evil by Charles Kimball quoted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers. Copyright 2002.

University of Notre Dame Press has granted permission to quot from Young Adult Catholics by Dean Hoge, et al. Copyright 2001.

Liguori Publications has graciously permitted the use of material from the book My Hope for the Church by Bernard Haring. Copyright 1987.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

R. John Kinkel is President of RCS, Inc. and is a computer consultant for Fortune 500 companies. He was listed in Who’s Who in America, Fifty-Fourth Edition, 2000.

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Contents

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ENDNOTES

DEDICATION

                                                       For Miriam,

                                                                  Norma, and

                                                                             Danielle—three generations of women

                                                                                        the Church has failed.

PREFACE

The focus of this book is simple: faith in the Catholic Church, the faith of the people of God. There is a long and sophisticated history as to what this term faith really means and I will elaborate on these notions as we move through the pages of this book. I am concerned about the faith of God’s people and the forces at work which diminish this treasure. One priest put the problem this way:

Our churches are graying and emptying and our own children are no longer walking the path of faith, at least not public and ecclesial faith, with us.1

Many young people today are struggling to understand what went wrong; they want to know what brought about the sex scandal in the Church. Others have just given up. Why is the Catholic Church in this mess? Why do so many call themselves Catholics but less than half attend church services on a regular basis? Why have many dropped out and joined other religions? Is there something radically wrong with the Catholic Church? Can the Church be fixed? I believe it can, but who will do the dirty work so that things get cleaned up? Probably not those working on research which is funded by the Catholic Church. Certainly not the holy men and women I have met over the years who are reluctant to point out the Church’s many warts. And, I have my doubts about those who are so professional in their demeanor and writing that they equivocate at every turn. So for some strange reason, I feel called to carry out the task.

In many ways this book is like the analysis of the debris field of the Columbia space shuttle disaster: experts try to put the pieces together to figure out what went wrong. That is the task at hand. There are many dots on the wall of theoretical and empirical research concerning the current Church crisis. Can anyone draw a line connecting these pieces of information and thus solve the puzzle? I am attempting to do that.

Like so many authors I am well aware that writers produce books for themselves as well as their readers. The process of research and writing is a way of working through one’s own personal and social issues. Writing allows one to explore dilemmas for an extended period and then share the results with readers. Writing about the Church is an age-old task, fraught with mine fields and hidden obstacles on every side. I am fortunate to use a favored method of the late social theorist Robert K. Merton, namely, the insider/ outsider approach.2 I have spent twenty years inside the Church as a monk, seminarian, and priest. Then followed twenty-five years as a married man and the father of two. I have been blessed to view the Church from both sides of the altar and this unique experience affords me the opportunity to join in the discussion as to what the Church is and what it should be. The story is not pretty but it needs to be told.

JK

Detroit, Michigan

October 2004

INTRODUCTION

Joseph Heller is perhaps best known for his book Catch 22 and yet I found myself thinking more of his later novel Something Happened after reading and reflecting on the Catholic Church sex scandal. Something Happened for Heller is a book about corporate and social chaos. It tells the story of one Bob Slocum and how a malignant force crept into his world and destroyed him. The words something happened for me signify the unbelievable chain of events that has been dogging the Church for several decades and which only now are we beginning to understand the magnitude of the damage they have caused. But just as Watergate was not simply a two-bit burglary by some low-level Republican operatives, neither is the church sex-abuse scandal of the millennium about a few rotten apples who scraped their way through the seminary and then managed to get ordained. True, some priests committed vile acts against children, but there is more to this debacle than individual moral turpitude. As one person told me recently, I blame the bishops for this! (Polls show that about 75 percent of Catholics blame the bishops.) There certainly is a lot of blame to go around, and the head of each Catholic diocese has to own up to his mistakes. However, the focus of this inquiry is broader than a discussion of individual priests and bishops. It is social-historical: what is the nature and extent of the problem? What factors helped to bring about this ecclesiastical nightmare? How does this fiasco help us understand the multitude of difficulties and problems the Catholic Church has ignored over the years? A review of the significant events in the last half-century and their social milieu will provide a backdrop for the sex-abuse scandal and other problems. Secondly, these five decades show us what might have helped to contribute to this disaster. Thirdly, I suggest what reforms are needed to put the Catholic Church back on track: the strengthening of the Catholic faith. Like Luke Johnson, I am convinced that God is calling the Church to a more fundamental reform.1 Although this is only one man’s view of a complex and controversial time in our Church’ s history, I feel strongly that these initial ideas may generate further discussion and debate that could bring us to a New Jerusalem, although probably not in our lifetime.

JK

CHAPTER ONE

THE PRE-VATICAN II CHURCH

God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in heaven.

Baltimore Catechism

The mid-twentieth century found American Catholics reeling from society’s triple whammy: the Depression, World War II, and the Korean War. Add to this the Cold War mentality, the anti-communist witch-hunt of Senator Joseph McCarthy, and young people were often fearful of what awaited them in the future. McCarthy liked to call Harvard University the Kremlin on the Charles River. Edward R. Murrow found McCarthyism appalling and severely criticized the Wisconsin senator for concluding that those who dissented from public policy were disloyal Americans.

The Beatniks (from the Beat Generation) articulated some of the angst of the period. Only later in life when I read Jack Kerouac’s On the Road (1957) did I appreciate this story of cultural malaise written by the Beat Generation’s better known author. He rejected the label king of the beat generation and the implication that his life amounted to hanging out all day, stoned, and hating America. Kerouac’s work shows a life-long quest for spiritual meaning, civil rights, equality, and social justice. His despondency and sadness later in life can be traced to a realization that society had made such little progress in the area of human values. Like any artist, he wanted to be appreciated for what he had accomplished. He died at age forty-seven not knowing if the message he brought to his readers had any impact.

In our town, the Sunday sermon occasionally railed against the birth control ideas of Margaret Sanger; she was definitely going to hell according to our pastor. In 1954 the nuns at our Catholic school were happy that under God could be inserted in our daily pledge of allegiance to the flag. We all wrote a letter to President Eisenhower thanking him. Bishop Fulton Sheen’s weekly program, Life Is Worth Living, on national TV gave Catholics the impression that the Church was strong and mainstream. The 1954 movie On the Waterfront depicted a gritty parish priest, Fr. Barry, who supported dockworkers against the corrupt bosses of the longshoremen’s union. The priest, played by Karl Malden, was a pillar of moral strength to these people in times of tragedy and suffering. Priests were our spiritual heroes. Few of us had any idea of the striking events that would occur in the next few years. At this time, people’s faith was strong and vibrant. Catholic Church attendance was at an all-time high. Prayer was not just something you did in church; the family rosary was an expression of the belief that families who prayed together, stayed together. Catholics were united by a (1) creed which contains their fundamental religious beliefs; (2) the scriptures which contain God’s revelation to mankind and that salvation comes to us through Jesus Christ; (3) the office of the bishop which teaches Catholic believers the everyday lessons needed to apply the fundamental truths in #1 and #2. Life in the Church seemed rather simple. People wanted to avoid complex arguments. But things were about to change both in society as a whole and the Church in particular. There was a lot of naiveté in the Church, but that’s the way it was.

Popular culture reported the arrival of a new musical phenomenon from Tupelo, Mississippi: Elvis Presley. His 1956 songs Hound Dog and Heartbreak Hotel had all the girls in our school excited. They would go to the record shops during lunch hour and bring back pictures of Elvis and his new hit records. The boys didn’t like it one bit. Baseball was king: the New York

Yankees (Mickey Mantle), the Brooklyn Dodgers (Jackie Robinson), and a new team, the Milwaukee Braves (Hank Aaron), were the most successful. There was only modest interest in the NBA, NHL, and NFL at that time.

The local priest taught us religion almost every day and sometimes talked about the need for vocations. In the fall of 1955 he told us that no one from our class had yet signed up to study for the priesthood or to enter the convent. It was that time of the year.

I squirmed when our pastor reminded us almost weekly about the need for vocations. No one had talked to him about going to the seminary next year. That made me anxious. I had become an altar boy the previous year because I thought it would be impossible to go to the seminary if I wasn’t even an altar boy. Little did I know about seminary requirements. In the next few months I came to the conclusion that the seminary was where I belonged and our pastor rejoiced when I informed him of my decision. I said good bye to my family and close friends; my seminary studies began in the fall of 1956.

In the late ‘50s seminarians were drawn mainly from a narrow range of Catholic families: lower middle-class and working-class types. Although the topic of homosexuality was never really discussed in my high school (except under the code words dangerous particular friendships), homosexuals were definitely a part of every seminary class. Yet, after examining the roster of my classmates (my class, the class above me, and the class below) I estimate that only about 15 percent of the group was gay. some of the gays dropped out and were never ordained; some of those who stayed had various problems such as alcoholism and eating disorders. The culture at the time was harsh on homosexuals and coming out of the closet wasn’t even an expression then.

In October 1957, the Soviet Union launched the world’s first satellite in space—it weighed only 183 lbs. The Soviets called it Sputnik. The event had everyone talking and wondering. The space age was upon us and America was behind. Many authors like

Admiral H. Rickover1 wrote books critical of our American education system; the challenge was to upgrade our scholastic standards, especially in the area of science and math. We felt the pressure as we moved through the seminary education system.

When we left school for summer vacations we were always reminded that we should not date girls during summer vacations and that listening to rock ‘n roll music was not an option. As seminarians got older, the admonitions changed a bit: seminary rectors were more concerned about punch and Judy—alcohol and women. No one warned us about the dangers of homosexuality. It was a taboo subject. Catholic life was simple: pay, pray, and obey. We were training to run this very predictable organization.

CHAPTER TWO

the church and change

I love all men and wish well to all.

Pope John XXIII

In the fall of 1958, a new pope was elected following the death of Pope Pius XII. Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (Pope John XXIII) captured the hearts and minds of Catholics and non-Catholics alike. One of my distant aunts, who in those days was called a fallen away Catholic, became so impressed with him that she came back to the Church. There were a lot of stories like that. He wanted to throw open the windows of the Vatican and called for an updating (aggiornamento) of the Church. Despite great opposition from the cardinals in the Roman Curia and others, he called the Second Vatican Council in January 1959 because of a sudden inspiration by the Holy Spirit. Clearly, the Italian-controlled church civil service would not deter the newly elected pope. Tension arose because the curia was happy with the Church the way it was and efforts to bring about change were viewed with hostility. The idea of a council, however, would not be thwarted. Pope John was by far, the greatest and most beloved pope of the twentieth century.1

During the nearly five years John XXIII occupied the chair of St. Peter, Catholics experienced an almost idyllic period in the Church’s often turbulent history; the image of the Church changed from a condemning, counter-Reformation religion to an organization that spoke to the world—and the world listened. Many claim that the council marked the end of dogmatism in the Catholic Church.

Pope John the person was a good-natured and jovial man. Unlike Pius IX, who seemed at times to want to rule the world, he had one ambition: to be the image of the Good Shepherd who defended truth and goodness. Stories about his simple, pastoral approach abound. He once granted a papal audience to a traveling circus and fondly patted a lion cub named Dolly. At Christmas many clergy take vacations to relax and deal with holiday-induced stress. But this pope would have none of that. He used the Christmas break to visit hospitals and jails in and around Rome. His sense of humor was subtle and honest. While escorting a group of dignitaries through the Vatican bureaucracy one day, a visitor remarked, This is a huge religious complex, Your Holiness, how many people work here? Pope John’s reply, Oh, about half.

Lest one conclude that Pope John was a lightweight when it came to substantive Church policy, we have only to examine his encyclicals Mater et Magistra and Pacem in Terris—both pathbreaking social justice documents. The former was unique in that it was addressed to All men of good will. In short, he ruled the flock in a revolutionary way. He told his colleagues that, I have the gift of papal infallibility but I will never use it.

True to his tradition of inspiring through pithy sayings, he told his friends as his death loomed imminent, "My bags are packed, I