The Passion of the Church

The Rome Summit on the protection of minors ended on Sunday, February 24, 2019. It was called following the recent scandals of sexual abuse of teens, adults and children by priests and bishops. The media were eager to report on the story as part of an ongoing strategy to discredit the Church.

The most scandalous case was that of former cardinal, Theodore McCarrick, archbishop emeritus of Washington, D.C., who abused teenagers, seminarians and priests over several decades. Rumors about his sexual misconduct had circulated for many years and financial settlements had been paid to victims to remain silent. He was publicly accused in August 2018 by former Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, Bishop Carlo Maria Viganò. An enquiry was conducted by the Vatican which concluded that the accusations were founded. In February 2019, the Vatican stripped Theodore McCarrick of his title and he was laicized. Since then, several bishops and cardinals throughout the world have been accused of similar misconduct and even condemned by civil courts. Some of these accusations were unfounded, it must be added.

Such matters harm both the Church and the faithful. Pope Francis invited the presidents of the various bishops’ conferences of the world to a four day Summit on the question. This was a first in Church history.

In his closing remarks, Pope Francis denounced the misconduct of the consecrated, comparing their crimes to “the cruel religious practice, once widespread in certain cultures, of sacrificing human beings – frequently children – in pagan rites”.

Without denying the existence of the problem the Pope reminded us that the phenomenon of abuse is not limited to the Catholic clergy. It exists in all sectors of society:

“The first truth that emerges from the data is that those who perpetrate abuse, that is, acts of physical, sexual or emotional violence, are primarily parents, relatives, husbands of child-brides, coaches and teachers. Furthermore, according to a 2017 study of 28 countries by UNICEF, 9 out of every 10 girls who had forced sexual relations stated they were victims of someone they knew or who was close to their family.”

The Pope added: “The brutality of this worldwide phenomenon becomes all the more grave and scandalous in the Church, for it is utterly incompatible with her moral authority and ethical credibility. Consecrated persons, chosen by God to guide souls to salvation, let themselves be dominated by their human frailty, or sickness, and thus become tools of Satan. In abuse, we see the hand of the evil that does not spare even the innocence of children....

“The Church has now become increasingly aware of the need not only to curb the gravest cases of abuse by disciplinary measures and civil and canonical processes, but also to decisively confront the phenomenon both inside and outside the Church. She feels called to combat this evil that strikes at the very heart of her mission, which is to preach the Gospel to the little ones and to protect them from ravenous wolves.

“Here again I would state clearly that if in the Church there should emerge even a single case of abuse – which already in itself represents an atrocity – that case will be addressed with the utmost seriousness. Brothers and sisters, in people’s justified anger, the Church sees the reflection of the wrath of God, betrayed and insulted by these deceitful consecrated persons. The echo of the silent cry of the little ones who, instead of finding fathers and spiritual guides encountered tormentors, will shake hearts dulled by hypocrisy and by power. It is our duty to pay close heed to this silent, choked cry…”

Even when the media tends to generalize and would have us believe that all priests were corrupt, the Holy Father reminded us that the great majority are faithful to their mission:

“Allow me now to offer a heartfelt word of thanks to all those priests and consecrated persons who serve the Lord faithfully and totally, and who feel themselves dishonoured and discredited by the shameful conduct of some of their confreres. All of us – the Church, consecrated persons, the people of God, and even God himself – bear the effects of their infidelity. In the name of the whole Church, I thank the vast majority of priests who are not only faithful to their celibacy, but spend themselves in a ministry today made even more difficult by the scandals of few (but always too many) of their confreres. I also thank the faithful who are well aware of the goodness of their pastors and who continue to pray for them and to support them.”

The Pope concluded with these words: “Finally, I would like to stress the important need to turn this evil into an opportunity for purification”.

We are witnessing the Church’s purification. The Church, like its Master, is living a true Passion and Way of the Cross before its Resurrection. One can read in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, in The Church’s Ultimate Trial (675, 677):

“Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers (Luke 18: 8; Matthew 24: 12). The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth (Luke 21: 12; John 15: 19-20) will unveil the “mystery of iniquity” in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh” (2 Th 2: 4-12; 1 Th 5: 2-3; 2 John 7: 1; John 2: 18-22).

At the end of time the Church will seem defeated, just as did her Divine Head on the cross, but we are told that She will triumph.

The Church was Infiltrated

What has occured in the Church could be the result of an infiltration that dates back to the days of the Soviet Union.

Although former cardinal Theodore McCarrick was removed from office, questions remain: “How was it possible that such a character could climb the ladder of the Church’s hierarchy without any opposition?” “Did he have accomplices?”

Temptations from the devil and a lack of prayer might explain these depraved actions, in part. Another explanation might be that the Church has been infiltrated for decades by saboteurs who are communist agents.

Former U.S. communist, Bella Dodd, who reverted to Catholicism in 1952 thanks to Bishop Fulton Sheen, gave the following testimony before the Congress’ Anti-American Activities Committee in Washington:

“In the 1930’s, we put eleven hundred men into the priesthood in order to destroy the Church from within. The idea was for these men to be ordained, and then climb the ladder of influence and authority as Monsignors and Bishops.”

According to Bella Dodd, directives were sent from Moscow to all Communist Party organizations. In order to destroy the [Roman] Catholic Church from within, party members were to be planted in seminaries and within diocesan organizations.

When Dodd returned to the Catholic Church she felt guilt and remorse. Aware that she had caused much harm to the Church, she wanted to join a monastic order to redeem herself. However, Bishop Sheen asked her to remain in the world to uncover the communists’ strategies.

One might wonder if, rather than priests falling into temptation, we are dealing with an attack against Catholic faith and morals led by a cunning and perverted enemy. Indeed, sexual abuse committed by priests is the most powerful weapon that can be used to disqualify the Church, making her lose moral authority and so lead people to abandon their faith.

Bella Dodd said: “The idea was not to destroy the institution of the Church, but rather to destroy the faith of the people, and if possible, to use the institution of the Church to do so.”

Communist leaders such as Lenin and Stalin openly stated that the Catholic Church was their greatest enemy. Why would they not try to destroy its doctrine? In the 1980s, Cardinal Ratzinger, who would later become Pope Benedict XVI, warned the faithful on many occasions about “Liberation Theology”, a theology inspired by Marxism that was disguised as concern for the poor. This theology was advanced by communist KGB agents in the Latin American Catholic Church in the 1950s. As related by Ion Mihai Pacepa, the former Chief of Romanian Intelligence in the 1950s and 1960s: “The movement is the child of the KGB and it bore the name given it by the KGB, Liberation Theology.”

Communists are no longer alone in wanting the Catholic Church destroyed. All of the Church’s enemies, including the media, have joined hands. Let us not become prey. We must remain strong in the faith and united within the Church through prayer and by receiving the sacraments, as recommended by Archbishop Aupetit from Paris and Cardinal Müller in articles that follow in this edition of MICHAEL.

“Some demons can only be fought by prayer and fasting”, said Jesus. Let us use this Lenten season for personal purification and for the purification of the Church who, after suffering through this Passion and Cross, will rise once again more beautiful than ever, just as Her Founder.