Our Church
In recent weeks (August 2020) our local diocese (Springfield, MA) has been rocked by the revelation of yet another scandal with the release of a 350 page report by retired Superior Court Judge Peter A. Velis. Judge Velis’ report, requested by Archbishop Elect Mitchell Rozanski states that the accusations of child rape of an altar server by Bishop Christopher J. Weldon (d. 1982) in the 1960’s was “unequivocally credible”.1 The description of the events by the survivor is nothing short of horrific and evil. These evil acts were allegedly perpetrated on a trusting, innocent child by the fourth Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield. Also of recent memory one must recall that the first U.S. Bishop ever to be indicted for sexual abuse was the 7th Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield, Bishop Thomas L. Dupre.2 Please stop and pause and pray for a moment as you realize that in our lifetimes we have witnessed the legacy of two Bishops of the Springfield Diocese bring shame upon Christ’s church and great pain upon many victims.
We should take no comfort in knowing that our diocese is not alone in this shame. In July of 2018 the Attorney General of Pennsylvania released a nearly 900 page Grand Jury report from its two year investigation of sexual abuse in six of the dioceses of Pennsylvania which identified horrific abuse across its several dioceses over the years.3 Also in recent times we learned of decades of abuse by a Cardinal of the Church, here in the United States; Cardinal Timothy McCarrick who has since been laicized and is living in shame and hiding.4
The scale, depth and breadth of the purely evil acts that innocent faithful endured at the hands of clergy are truly unimaginable and should bring all of us to tears and to our knees. It should be apparent to anyone who has read of the crimes of these and others that their hearts were not one with Christ and His church, far from it. They used Christ’s Church to further diabolic plans. Bishop Robert Barron makes this point quite clearly in his publication; Letter to a suffering Church5, in which he states:
“It has been a diabolical masterpiece. I am talking about the scandal that has gripped the Catholic Church for the past thirty years and that continues to wreak havoc even today. When I was going through the seminary, it was fashionable to conceive of the devil as a symbol for the evil in the world, a sort of colorful literary device. But the storm of wickedness that has compromised the work of the Church in every way and that has left countless lives in ruins is just too ingenious to have been the result of impersonal forces alone or merely human contrivance. It seems so thoroughly thought through, so comprehensively intentional. Certainly, in the ordinary run of history, bad things happen, but this scandal is just too exquisitely designed. It has corroded Catholic credibility so completely that the Church’s work in evangelization, catechesis, preaching, outreach to the poor, recruitment of vocations, and education has been crippled. And most terribly, members of the Church, especially its most vulnerable, have been forced to live through a nightmare from which it seems impossible to wake. If the Church had a personal enemy—and indeed the devil is known as the enemy of the human race—it is hard to imagine that he could have come up with a better plan. In saying this, I am by no means implying that human beings bear no responsibility; just the contrary. The devil works typically through suggestion, insinuation, temptation, and seduction. He is essentially powerless until he finds men and women who will cooperate with him. The best visual depiction of this dynamic is in a fresco by the early Renaissance painter Luca Signorelli, which can be found in the cathedral at Orvieto. It is a dramatic picture of the advent of the antichrist. The central figure, looking every inch the stereotypical Christ figure, is listening intently to the whispered suggestions of the devil, who presses in close to him. Only a careful examination reveals that what looks like the antichrist’s left arm is in fact the arm of the devil, which has reached creepily through the antichrist’s vesture. Whose voice is it? Whose gesture is it? Both the man’s and the devil’s. So it goes. And so it has gone these past several decades as the dark power, through far too many willing cooperators, has done his work.”
It is so very important that I hasten to add, that among those who are rightfully hurt and angry about these horrific evils are the many clergy who in the wake of these revelations remain faithful, good servants of Christ and His Church. We should be praying for these men each day. Lift them up in gratitude, ask Mary to protect them under the mantle of her care, thank God for the sacraments they bring to us and let them know how much we love and appreciate them.
But I also must add that along with these faithful clergy are the laity who despite the seemingly insurmountable challenges have remained loyal and faithful to Christ and His Church. They continue to worship at Mass. They continue to serve and support the church both locally at the parish level and beyond.
Part of what I plan to share in the future through A Layman’s Hope blog is the witness that these clergy and laity provide and how they offer great hope for the future of the Church.
Our Society
In recent conversations I have had with friends, they seemed genuinely surprised when I used the term “Post-Christian” to describe the society around us. The assertion that our culture has indeed put Christ behind it and moved onto other faiths (e.g., new atheism, agnosticism, hedonism, relativism etc.) seemed a bit harsh. They assert, “surely we’ve lost ground but can we really consider ourselves Post Christian?” Perhaps not in our immediate circle of friends, but sadly beyond that circle, the data at best suggests we are at a minimum heading in that direction and at worst we are already there. Most troubling is what we witness right here in our own Diocese of Springfield, MA as shown by data presented by Barna.
Last year, Barna, a well-respected research company whose work is focused on the intersection of faith and culture, published the results of its research on faith trends within the United States entitled; “The Most Post-Christian Cities in America: 2019”. 6 People’s responses to 16 different questions were tallied. Individuals were asked if they agreed with statements such as: “I do not believe in God”, “I identify as atheist or agnostic”, “I disagree that faith is important” plus thirteen additional questions.
To be considered as “Post Christian” one needed to have answered affirmative to 9 out of 16 questions. To be considered “Highly Post Christian” one would have answered 13 out of 16 in the affirmative. The cities were then ranked according to the percent of persons rated as “Post Christian”. The responses according to Barna’s report were;
- “…the most post-Christian city in America is Springfield-Holyoke, MA (66%). This Northeast city is the first of eight (in a row) from this region that makes the top 10…”
Fully 2/3 of the population of two of our major cities is considered Post-Christian. These are communities within our own diocese. These are communities of the Northeast. Certainly, Springfield and Holyoke are not unique. Surely, they reflect the environment of most if not all communities around us. And we seem to be leading a trend which sadly is seen across the country. Data from the Pew Research Center suggests a similar trend.
In October 2019 the Pew Research Center published; “In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace – An Update on America’s Changing Religious Landscape” 7 in which among its data it reported;
“…in surveys conducted in 2018 and 2019, 65% of American adults describe themselves as Christians when asked about their religion, down 12 percentage points over the past decade. Meanwhile, the religiously unaffiliated share of the population, consisting of people who describe their religious identity as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular,” now stands at 26%, up from 17% in 2009.”
The Commissioning of the Disciples
While the aforementioned should cause concern, it should not lead to despair. As Jesus promised in His commissioning of the disciples;
MT 28: 16-20 The eleven – disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. 18 – Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go, therefore, – and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
- https://www.scribd.com/document/466826182/Report-on-sexual-abuse-allegations-against-former-Springfield-bishop#from_embed
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/thomas-dupre-first-us-catholic-bishop-indicted-in-clergy-sex-scandal-dies-at-83/2017/01/03/955d692c-d1cc-11e6-945a-76f69a399dd5_story.html
- file:///C:/Users/Tim/Downloads/A-Report-of-the-Fortieth-Statewide-Investigating-Grand-Jury_Cleland-Redactions-8-12-08_Redacted.pdf
- https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/two-years-since-mccarrick-allegations-a-cna-timeline-61012
- Barron, Robert. Letter to a Suffering Church: A Bishop Speaks on the Sexual Abuse Crisis (pp. 2-5). Word on Fire Catholic Ministries. Kindle Edition.
- https://www.barna.com/research/post-christian-cities-2019/
- https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at-rapid-pace/
A Layman's Hope 