Abuse victims are turning their gaze toward the Vatican. Certain prominent critics claim the Vatican was really at the core of the problem of abuse. Hrm. I don’t think it’s that clear cut. There’s enough stonewalling and misguided cover up at the diocesan level to satisfy anyone.
A couple of these guys even go so far as to demand an “independent church court system.”
The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the church’s orthodoxy watchdog, vets all abuse claims against priests worldwide. Bishops arrange church trials for accused priests and bishops answer only to the pope, the advocates note.
“There is no internal mechanism of accountability,” Berry said. “There is no separation of powers and the Vatican will not allow lay people to have any say in removing bishops.”
Give me a break. This shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of the Church. The Church is not a democracy, it is not secular government, it is not a business corporation. It is the Body of Christ, a family with the Pope at its head. Who would set up this court system? Who would oversee it? What would be the check and balance against it? This is just another attempt to strip the authority in the Church from the bishops, especially the Pope, in order to bring about someone’s new agenda for the Church.
No, Fr. Fessio has the clearer plan for reform. A return to holiness and to the teachings of the Church are what we need. “The reform that’s needed is not of structures,” Fessio said. “It’s a needed reform of the human heart.”
“No, Fr. Fessio has the clearer plan for reform. A return to holiness and to the teachings of the Church are what we need. unborn children is specifically prohibited by law from communion.
Why is it so difficult for Bishop Stenbock to say this? Does he think that canon law is not law?
MS
The weirdest part is where Stenbock says that a drunk or someone who *doesn’t know how to behave* should be refused. Honestly, is this code for someone who kneels? Anyway, we all know now what the instruction said. I suppose if McCarrick gets away with it he will too. If not, then not.
Steinbock’s quote “..any baptized Catholic…must be admitted…” may NOT apply to those who kneel for the reception of the Eucharist, of course.