The Clericalism of Saint John Paul II—and the Roman Catholic Church, Generally

  

 

THE CLERICALISM OF SAINT JOHN PAUL II—AND THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, GENERALLY

CATHOLIC CHURCH ABUSE: VATICAN DEFENDS HANDLING OF MCCARRICK CASE

BBC News

10 November 2020

Theodore McCarrick, a former archbishop of Washington DC, was expelled from the priesthood after the Vatican concluded its investigation last year.

It has now issued a report into how he was able to rise through the ranks, despite allegations going back decades.

It argues that credible evidence only surfaced in 2017.

The current Pope, Francis, then ordered the investigation and last year Mr McCarrick, now 90, was found to have sexually abused a teenage boy in the 1970s.

His abuses may have taken place too long ago for criminal charges to be filed because of the US statute of limitations.

What did the report find?

The 450-page report includes testimonies and dozens of letters and transcripts from Vatican and US Church archives.

Mr McCarrick served as archbishop of Washington DC from 2001 to 2006.

The report finds that the late Pope John Paul II, who died in 2005, was told of his abuses but chose to believe American bishops who instead concealed the information and Mr McCarrick himself, who denied it all.

It also finds that Pope Benedict XVI, who resigned in 2013, probably rejected the idea of an investigation because there were ‘no credible allegations of child abuse’.

The report acknowledges that, in hindsight, the Vatican’s investigations into the allegations against Mr McCarrick were of a ‘limited nature’.

In July 2018, Mr McCarrick became the first person to resign as a cardinal since 1927. Pope Francis suspended him from all priestly duties the following February.

He is among hundreds of members of the clergy accused of sexually abusing children over several decades.

‘We publish the report with sorrow for the wounds that these events have caused to the victims, their families, the Church in the United States and the universal Church,’ said the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

Two years of investigation, interviews with 90 witnesses - some stretching to 30 hours - and the result: a damning litany of cover-ups and complicity that ignored the open secret of Theodore McCarrick’s serial sex abuse and enabled his hallowed rise to cardinal.

It is more than the individuals targeted in this report; it is the entire Church culture under successive papacies that swept facts under the carpet, made denial easy and chose to believe predators over victims.

The fact that the report so candidly exposes the misjudgements of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI is unprecedented - particularly the former, who was declared a saint in 2014. Pope Francis is spared the worst of the blame, with the report stressing that he took action with the first claim of paedophilia deemed to be concrete. That previous allegations weren’t seen as reliable is an indictment in itself.

Pope Francis has taken some action to tackle the abuse crisis - belatedly, his critics say. But that such crimes could fester for so long is a tragic exposé of decades of failings.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/world-us-canada-54889520

—“Catholic Church abuse: Vatican defends handling of McCarrick case,” BBC News, November 10, 2020

HISTORY-MAKING REPORT SETS A PRECEDENT THE VATICAN CAN’T WALK BACK

John L. Allen Jr.

Crux

November 12, 2020

…August 17, 2011, when the Vatican released roughly 70 pages of documents in its possession regarding the case of Father Andrew Ronan, a Servite priest who was laicized in 1966 and died in 1992 and who later figured in a sex abuse lawsuit in Oregon in which the Vatican was named as a defendant.

…in that instance, there were no interviews conducted by a Vatican investigator, no attempt to provide context or explanation, and no admission of failure. All we got were the documents themselves, along with a preemptory declaration by a spokesman that they proved the Vatican completely innocent.

…the Ronan release was profoundly different from what happened with the McCarrick report, which was researched and written by Jeffrey Lena and his colleagues. Lena is a Berkeley-based attorney who’s represented the Vatican on civil matters in American courts for decades and who also knows Italy well, having studied and taught in Milan and Turin.

To grasp the full significance of what’s happened, let’s take a step back. Since 1870, when the Vatican lost its temporal authority and was compelled to become an exclusively spiritual power, operationally it’s had two core principles: Secrecy and sovereignty. Secrecy meant we don’t air our dirty laundry in public in order to avoid scandal, and sovereignty meant we don’t owe an explanation of our actions to anyone.

This report doesn’t just break with those principles, it shatters them forever.

Granted, critics may find it terribly convenient that while the report faults St. John Paul II and Pope emeritus Benedict XVI, it largely insulates Pope Francis from blame. Granted, too, victims and others may object this is an accounting without accountability, and until someone is punished not only for the crime but the cover-up, the work isn’t done.

Still, for the most part the report is searingly honest and comes off as a genuine attempt to get at the truth. It contains a level of detail never before seen. We’re given the strictly confidential advice the most senior prelates in the Church gave when deciding to promote McCarrick, we’re given the gut-wrenching details of victim testimony, and we’re given first-hand recollections by top Vatican officials of the decision-making process. Such disclosure, on this scale, is absolutely new.

The present power structure in the Vatican deserves credit not only for allowing this to happen, but for taking the heat as time wore on and impatience grew. We’ve been wondering for two years why it was taking so long, but seeing how thorough and painstakingly detailed the report is, that question no longer seems quite so pressing.

More basically, think about the precedent this report sets. From now until the end of time, regarding any scandal past or present, if the Vatican refuses to conduct a similar investigation and make the results public, the question always will be: Why not? What are they trying to hide?

If I were a victim of the late Mexican Father Marcial Maciel Degollado, founder of the Legion of Christ, I’d be demanding a similar investigation right now to find out who covered for Maciel in the Vatican and why. If I were one of the alleged victims of Argentine Bishop Gustavo Zanchetta, accused of sexual misconduct with adult seminarians and given a job by Pope Francis in the Vatican’s financial operations, I’d be clamoring for my own McCarrick report to tell me what the pope knew and when he knew it.

One could go on. At the moment, another candidate for such an inquest might be the burgeoning London financial scandal and the charges of financial impropriety against Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu. Some skeptics believe Becciu has been set up as a convenient fall guy for the entire affair, and perhaps only a thorough review on the scale of the McCarrick report could establish what actually happened.

In other words, having decided once that secrecy and sovereignty needed to yield to transparency and honesty, the Vatican will never again have a persuasive excuse not to do the same thing when other failures occur.

In the end, it’s possible the McCarrick report may be remembered as the single most consequential step toward reform during the Francis papacy, not only because of what it reveals about this particular case, but the precedent it sets for how all future cases ought to be handled.

https://cruxnow.com/news-analysis/2020/11/history-making-report-sets-a-precedent-the-vatican-cant-walk-back/

—John L. Allen Jr., “History-making report sets a precedent the Vatican can’t walk back,” Crux, November 12, 2020

LORI: REPORT MARKS NEW ERA OF TRANSPARENCY, WHICH LAITY ‘HAVE RIGHTLY DEMANDED’

Catholic News Service

Contributor

Crux

November 13, 2020

BALTIMORE — Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori in a Nov. 10 letter to the Catholic faithful of his archdiocese said the long-awaited Vatican report on former cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick ‘brings us to another moment of painful awareness of our church’s past failures.’

But ‘it also marks a new era of transparency in our church, which the lay faithful have rightly demanded,’ he wrote.

His letter followed the release earlier that day of the ‘Report on the Holy See’s Institutional Knowledge and Decision-Making Related to Former Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick.’

The 460-page report is the result of a two-year investigation into how McCarrick, although dogged for years by rumors of sexual impropriety, was able to rise up the Catholic hierarchical structure based on personal contacts, protestations of his innocence and a lack of church officials reporting and investigating accusations, according to the Vatican report on the matter.

…Like Lori, Catholic bishops across the country issued statements in response to the reports release. Here are excerpts from some of those statements: …

— Archbishop John C. Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico: ‘Pope Francis has committed himself and the Catholic Church to accountability, responsibility and transparency. The McCarrick report is part of this commitment, but by no means the last word. Rather, it marks a critical moment in the life of the church to accept the truth no matter where it is found and no matter where it leads. Pope Francis’ integrity and the integrity of the church rests on this fundamental principle. The McCarrick report underscores the importance of hearing and respecting the accounts of those who have been abused.’

‘It points to the necessity of working together to find the truth, which is the first step in the healing of victims and the healing of the church. It also unveils the insidiousness of clericalism and the devastating effects of selfish ambition and unbridled power. … I believe that while it sheds a bright light on the sins of the past it, also illumines the path of all bishops and those in authority in the church as we strive to reflect the light of Christ in all aspects of our lives and ministry. I pray that this report will be an important part of a wider effort on the part of the Catholic Church to build a new moment of trust and truth, ‘… a new heaven and a new earth.’’ (Revelation 21:1) …

— Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron of Detroit: ‘While the document is profoundly difficult to confront, I am encouraged by the Vatican’s commitment to produce and publicly release the information with which we must grapple if we are to continue the path of reconciliation, reform and healing in our church. The length of time invested in fact-finding and the length of the document itself indicates to me there was no fear in reporting the truth. The truth, as the Lord assures us, ‘… will set us free’ (Jn 8:32). The truth shows us the sure path to purification and reform. The immediate and most important takeaway from this report is to reaffirm our commitment to the care and healing of victim-survivors and to continue the renewal of our efforts to protect children and vulnerable adults.’ …

https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2020/11/lori-report-marks-new-era-of-transparency-which-laity-have-rightly-demanded/

—Catholic News Service, “Lori: Report marks new era of transparency, which laity ‘have rightly demanded,’” Crux, November 13, 2020

REALITY OF THE ABUSE SCANDALS NOW SEEMS A TALE OF TWO CARDINALS

John L. Allen Jr.

Crux

November 15, 2020

ROME – Over the last three years, sexual abuse charges against two high-profile and massively influential cardinals have rocked the Catholic Church, and now, seemingly, both stories have reached their conclusions. George Pell is a free man, while Theodore McCarrick is defrocked and exposed as a cunning manipulator able to hoodwink three papacies until his string finally ran out.

The McCarrick and Pell sagas contain two unavoidable truths about the clerical abuse scandals, and they must always be held together: Every accusation of abuse has to be taken seriously, but the mere fact of an allegation doesn’t make it true.

To put the point differently, McCarrick illustrates the risks of clericalism in blinding an entire system to clear warning signs and sincere attempts to blow the whistle; Pell illustrates the risks of anti-clericalism in allowing implausible charges to go to trial and cost a man 400 days behind bars before being finally dismissed.

…Over and over again, the Vatican’s recent McCarrick report illustrates that at key moments, senior officials were warned that something was amiss with McCarrick, that reports and charges from serious people needed to be considered. Each time, a Vatican official essentially disregarded the testimony of lay people, priests and religious, and based decisions exclusively on the counsel of other bishops.

In 1994, a Sister of Mercy named Mother Mary Quentin Sheridan informed the papal ambassador of charges against McCarrick; in 1999, Cardinal John O’Connor of New York did the same. Both Quentin and O’Connor suggested individuals from whom Vatican officials could get more information, yet either those individuals were never contacted or their contribution was dismissed.

(In Quentin’s case, the apostolic nuncio at the time, then-Archbishop Agostino Cacciavillan, actually concluded she had come forward because ‘she wanted to make herself appear important,’ which is about as bald a synthesis of the clericalist mindset as you’re ever likely to see in print.)

Looking back, had those whistle-blowers and others been taken seriously, victims would have received justice much sooner and the Church could have been spared unimaginable heartache. …

https://cruxnow.com/news-analysis/2020/11/reality-of-the-abuse-scandals-now-seems-a-tale-of-two-cardinals/

—John L. Allen Jr., “Reality of the abuse scandals now seems A Tale of Two Cardinals,” Crux, November 15, 2020

 

SAINT POPE JOHN PAUL II – A HASTY HALO?

By Philip Pullella

Reuters

November 16, 2020 5:58 PM

Updated 3 months ago

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - During his 27-year pontificate, Pope John Paul II canonised so many people that some dubbed the Vatican ‘the saint factory’.

Now, the Polish pope’s own legacy is under a shadow and some Catholics are asking if declaring him a saint in 2014, a record nine years after his death, may have been a hasty decision.

Last week, the Vatican issued its report on ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick, a star of the U.S. Church who was expelled from the priesthood last year after an internal investigation found him guilty of sexual abuses of minors and adults and abuse of power.

It showed that John Paul had promoted McCarrick in 2000 to be archbishop of Washington DC despite persistent rumours of sexual misconduct, believing his personal denial and overruling several senior Church officials who had advised him against it.

The report rekindled a debate between John Paul’s defenders and detractors that had accompanied his canonisation - an official recognition that a person lived and died in such an exemplary manner that they are with God in heaven and worthy of public veneration - or ‘cult’ - across the Church.

‘Saints are human beings, and saints, in their humanity, can be deceived,’ wrote papal biographer George Weigel.

‘DIFFICULT RECKONING’

The head of the Polish bishops’ conference said McCarrick had ‘cynically deceived’ John Paul, but not all Poles agreed. In Warsaw, someone placed a sticker on a street sign reading ‘John Paul II Avenue’ to make it read ‘Victims of John Paul II Avenue’.

In the United States, the influential National Catholic Reporter newspaper urged bishops to ‘suppress the cult’ of the late pope. That meant that, while he would still be considered a saint, schools or churches should not bear his name and activities of devotion towards him should be private.

‘It is time for a difficult reckoning. This man ... undermined the global Church’s witness, shattered its credibility as an institution, and set a deplorable example for bishops in ignoring the accounts of abuse victims,’ its editorial said.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said he had no comment.

The McCarrick Report said John Paul’s willingness to believe the former cardinal’s denial was likely to have been influenced by his experience in his Poland, when communists used false abuse allegations to weaken the Church.

John Paul’s defenders have offered the same explanation to counter allegations that he turned a blind eye to Father Marcial Maciel, the Mexican founder of the Legionaries of Christ religious order who was the Church’s most notorious sexual abuser.

‘MODELS TO BE IMITATED’

‘The problems that have arisen over John Paul’s treatment of McCarrick prove that it is a mistake to be too hasty in canonising anyone,’ said Father Tom Reese, senior analyst for the independent Religion News Service.

‘I oppose canonising popes because it is often more about Church politics than sanctity,’ he said. ‘Saints are supposed to be models to be imitated. How can you model yourself after a pope unless you are a pope?’

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pope-johnpaul-sainthood-idUSKBN27W10P

—Philip Pullella, “Saint Pope John Paul II - a hasty halo?” Reuters, November 16, 2020

MCCARRICK REPORT IS ONE SMALL STEP TO DISMANTLING CLERICAL CULTURE

By Tom Roberts

National Catholic Reporter

November 20, 2020

…The McCarrick report is the most persuasive evidence to date that the appellation ‘The Great’ was applied too soon.

…John Paul II, confronted with the most damaging scandal the church faced in centuries, ignored the disturbing warnings from victims and from bishops entrusted with the care of the flock and instead embraced the adulation and counsel of serial predators. In doing so, he became not a figure of the courage that he persistently demanded of others, but the highest profile example of a corrupt hierarchical culture responsible for perpetuation of the abuse disgrace.

The editors of this publication do a great service to the church, and to sexual abuse victims, by asking the U.S. bishops to put the brakes on the John Paul II cult. It is, indeed, time to rein in the cult that has grown up around a garish superhero version of a pope.

The greatest value of the recent report, however, is not in establishing the weight of blame for the McCarrick debacle, though that is significant. Its greatest value is establishing that for all of his legendary achievements on the international front, at home John Paul II was a rather pedestrian member of a culture that has deep underlying maladies that became manifest in the abuse crisis. What he did, which warrants condemnation today, was not extraordinary at the time. He did what was expected of one deeply invested in and rewarded by the culture. He protected it at all costs, ignoring credible and impassioned warnings about McCarrick and another of his favorites, Marciel Maciel Degollado, founder of the corrupt Legionaries of Christ. The costs have been globally destructive of the church’s credibility and authority.

We all wish John Paul had acted more humanely and less arrogantly toward those issuing the warnings and toward the victims. It would have spared the church a great deal of pain in the short run. But it only would have delayed the inevitable unraveling of a culture that is all male, allegedly celibate, deeply secretive, highly privileged, and based in no small measure on centuries of flawed thinking and anthropology about women. It was destined to run into trouble.

Look around the U.S. episcopal landscape during the John Paul II era and notice stunning similarities to that pope’s example. Take Cardinals Anthony Bevilacqua of Philadelphia, Roger Mahony of Los Angeles, Bernard Law of Boston, Archbishop Rembert Weakland of Milwaukee, to name a few. All of them, in different ways, were admirable figures, often remarkable promoters of the social gospel and advocates in the wider culture for truth and justice. But all of them, in varying degrees, were, like the pope who elevated the cardinals among them, subservient in the end to the culture that gave them status and privilege. Even Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago, who was the first to institute reforms and establish a review board, was known to have protected abusive priests, shielding them from prosecution and transferring them among assignments.

The point is that none possessed the prophetic voice that would have made a difference and revealed the ugly truth of the matter. They all, some in more egregious ways than others, engaged in a cover-up and in a ruthless disregard for victims and their families. Their example was repeated endlessly through the ranks of the hierarchy.

Remaking rules and statutes and seeking accountability will satisfy some of the failings. Those actions, however, are only a small step on the way to the truth of the matter, a truth that in its fullness lies in transformation of the culture, not merely changing statutes.

The wisdom about where to go from here is out there. Consult the thoughts of inactive priest Thomas Doyle or Jesuit theologian Fr. James Keenan. Reference the writings of the late Richard Sipe or the work of Patrick Wall, both former members of the Benedictine order who turned into tireless advocates for abuse victims. Don’t skip over what I consider one of the deepest insights offered in the process of searching for a way forward, the thoughts of Sr. Carol Zinn, on the need for transforming relationships before retooling institutional structures.

…The steps not yet taken involve much deeper, interior work on the part of those still greatly invested in and rewarded by the culture than they’ve yet been willing or able to face. They must be willing to ask themselves fundamental questions about the meaning of ordination, the role of the ordained in the larger community, the consequences of prohibiting women from the realm of the ordained, the role of privilege and secrecy in church governance. They have to decide whether the model for bishops is prince or servant, and what that decision portends for their credibility and leadership in the future

[Tom Roberts is former editor of NCR.]

https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/mccarrick-report-one-small-step-dismantling-clerical-culture

—Tom Roberts, “McCarrick report is one small step to dismantling clerical culture,” National Catholic Reporter, November 20, 2020

 

EDITORIAL: US BISHOPS, PLEASE SUPPRESS THE CULT OF ST. JOHN PAUL II

By NCR Editorial Staff

National Catholic Reporter

November 13, 2020

In many, many ways, Pope John Paul II was an admirable man. The last decades of the 20th century were enriched immeasurably by his deft use of papal statecraft in raising up the voices of oppressed peoples across Eastern Europe, in his various efforts toward inter-religious dialogue, and by his personal witness to the dignity of aging.

But as the Vatican’s unprecedented report on the career of disgraced ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick reveals in shocking detail, the first decade of the 21st century will forever be marred by John Paul’s calamitous, callous decision-making.

It is time for a difficult reckoning. This man, proclaimed a Catholic saint by Pope Francis in 2014, willfully put at risk children and young adults in the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., and across the world. In doing so, he also undermined the global church’s witness, shattered its credibility as an institution, and set a deplorable example for bishops in ignoring the accounts of abuse victims.

As with every saint, John Paul has a vibrant cult — people across the world who celebrate his memory by encouraging devotion to him, placing his name on churches and schools, and hosting processions and parades on his liturgical feast.

Given what we know now about the long-lasting repercussions of John Paul’s decision-making, the U.S. bishops, meeting next week for their annual conference, should seriously consider whether American Catholics can continue such practices. They should also discuss requesting that the Vatican formally suppress John Paul’s cult. Abuse victims deserve no less.

…Journalists Jason Berry and Gerald Renner first exposed Maciel’s abuse of seminarians in 1997. In 1998, eight ex-Legionaries brought their case against Maciel to the doctrinal congregation.

John Paul would continue to praise the man publicly for the rest of his papacy. Maciel was not publicly punished until 2006, after John Paul’s death, when Pope Benedict XVI ordered the priest to a life of penance.

There is no way anymore to escape the truth. John Paul, in many ways an admirable man, was willfully blind to the abuse of children and young people.

Suppressing the late pontiff’s cult would not mean telling people they need to throw away their relics or their medals — people could still practice private devotion to him. But for abuse victims, their advocates and many others, John Paul’s memory is no longer a blessing. It should not be celebrated in public.

https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/editorial-us-bishops-please-suppress-cult-st-john-paul-ii

—“Editorial: US bishops, please suppress the cult of St. John Paul II,” National Catholic Reporter, November 13, 2020

 

JOHN PAUL II COMMITTED SINS, TOO. JUST LIKE ALL THE OTHER SAINTS

Stephen P. White

America

November 19, 2020

St. John Paul II enjoys the beatific vision—the church gave her definitive judgment about that when he was canonized. There is nothing we can learn or discover or uncover about his life that will retroactively change that. Like all the church triumphant, he is far beyond our capacity to lift up or tear down.

John Paul II preached habitually about the liberating power of truth and enjoined us always to “be not afraid.” We should not shy away from asking hard questions about his failings. The truth about the past cannot hurt him; nor should we allow that the truth would hurt us.

Too often, a misplaced concern for scandal has led church leaders to conceal the truth from the people of God and from the world. The result has been immeasurable pain and lasting damage, not only to victims of abusers, but to the credibility of our shepherds and trust between the members of the body of Christ.

We ought to know that we can learn as much from the failings of a saint as from his successes.

Instead of looking past the failings of Pope John Paul II, we should look squarely at them. We ought to know that we can learn as much from the failings of a saint as from his successes. The release of the McCarrick Report gives us an opportunity to do just that.

…John Paul II again followed the recommendation of the Congregation for Bishops, this time appointing McCarrick to Washington.

This is what the McCarrick Report reveals about Pope John Paul II: He was deceived by Theodore McCarrick, a man who was a master of deception. A chance to halt the career of a wicked man was missed. The seeds were sown for a later, greater betrayal of victims and faithful alike. At the end of the day, culpability for the predations of Theodore McCarrick—and all that his sins wrought—belongs to Theodore McCarrick.

John Paul II was an imperfect man—a man who could be deceived. That an imperfect man has been declared a saint ought not surprise us in the least: It is true of every saint save one, Our Lady. There is a Pelagian streak in those who would denounce a saint on account of his weakness. It is God who makes saints by his grace—not by our strength of will, not even the wisdom of the church and certainly not the magnificence of one’s “legacy.”

The blemishes of the saints, including John Paul II, ought not be hidden, nor should they scandalize us. Rather, they should be a reminder to us of both humility—in the face of our own many failings—and of hope. The consequences of sin, ours or others, cannot be undone by human effort. If our salvation depended on our own perfection, we would be lost. It is only because of God’s mercy—unmerited and unfailing—that we have any hope of attaining the beatitude John Paul II now enjoys. And that alone is reason for us to “be not afraid.”

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/11/19/pope-john-paul-ii-sins-mccarrick-report-clergy-abuse-canonization-saint

—Stephen P. White, “John Paul II committed sins, too. Just like all the other saints,” America, November 19, 2020

 

IT WAS A MISTAKE TO CANONIZE SAINT JOHN PAUL II SO QUICKLY

Thomas J. Reese

America

November 19, 2020

(RNS) — The recent report detailing the Vatican’s response to the scandal surrounding ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick shows why it’s a mistake to canonize popes (or anyone) quickly after their deaths.

According to the Vatican report released last week, Pope John Paul II received warnings about McCarrick from Vatican officials and New York Cardinal John O’Connor in 1999. Two years later, McCarrick was installed as archbishop of Washington, D.C.

John Paul was beatified in 2011, six years after his death, and was made a saint three years later.

…The politics of canonizing popes aside, saints are supposed to be models for Catholics and others to imitate. How can anyone who is not pope really model him or herself after a pope — unless you are a cardinal who wants to be a pope?

My preferred candidates for canonization are lay people, especially married couples and young people. I would canonize the Rwandan students at Nyange Catholic Girls’ School who were beaten and killed by Hutu militants in 1997 when they refused to separate into Hutu and Tutsi groups. Their witness against genocide and for solidarity would mean more to young people than any pope.

Were these young women perfect? Not likely, but they don’t need to be: Saints are not perfect; they are also sinners. We need to remember that St. Peter denied he knew Jesus.

But when scandals like McCarrick’s become known, it makes people question the whole system. Which isn’t always a bad thing. When Josemaría Escrivá, the controversial founder of Opus Dei, was canonized in 2002, a Jesuit wag responded, “Well, that just proves everyone goes to heaven.”

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/11/18/saint-john-paul-ii-canonize-mistake-mccarrick-abuse

—Thomas J. Reese, “It was a mistake to canonize Saint John Paul II so quickly,” America, November 19, 2020

 

Saint John Paul II enabled clerical sexual abuse.

The McCarrick case illustrates the clericalism that marked John Paul II’s governance. He gave undue credence to clerical testimony and gave preferential treatment, not always justified, to clerical persons. He protected Maciel, McCarrick, and others because they were clerics.

John Paul II was predisposed to clericalism because of his resistance against the Polish Communist regime. He gave preferential ear to clerical persons and their testimony. He even reacted defensively against charges of clericalism by wielding against his critics his own charge of laicism.

The root of lack of action against McCarrick is institutional clericalism. It’s especially evident in John Paul II.

Two other important takeaways from the manner in which Saint John Paul II handled the cases of Maciel, McCarrick, and others:

Self-serving secrecy makes for bad governance.

Hasty factional canonizations poison the life of the Church.