[link|http://www.nationalreview.com/interrogatory/interrogatory032902.asp|H. W. Crocker interview]

Excerpt:

Lopez: Regarding the scandals that have the Church in the news
everyday now, are there lessons to take from the Church's past for the
faithful, the clergy, and for the rest of the world \ufffd the media covering
it, etc. \ufffd a context to put it in?

Crocker: I think most lay Catholics understand that the Church is a
divine institution staffed by human beings who are as subject to sin as
anyone else. Even the pope has a confessor. I do think that these
scandals have been seriously misreported. I think reporters are loath
to run stories headlined "Experience of Church with Homosexual
Priests Confirms Boy Scout Fears" even though that appears to be the
real story, as the bulk of these cases involve homosexual overtures to
post-pubescent boys. But just as liberals have misread what these
cases are about, so too have they misread the tea leaves about the
future. The outcome of these scandals will be not a more liberal
Church, but a more conservative one. It was, after all, liberal moral
laxity that got the Church into this mess; and the Church, if not liberal
columnists, understands that more liberalism is not going to get the
Church out of it. The Church will find its sources of moral renewal
where it has always found them, in fidelity to Church teaching, not in
liberal compromise with the world.

Lopez: Is there any kind of historical equivalent?

Crocker: Pedophilia and molesting adolescent boys are inexcusable
and terrible crimes, but we don't have to look into history for an
equivalent to them. As far as we have statistical data we know that
priests are no more inclined to pedophilic acts than ministers of any
other denomination or than the lay public. In fact, the evidence we
have so far suggests that they are less inclined. So if we want to see
sin and heinous crimes against innocence, just look around.

Lopez: What's "triumphant" about a Church with so many flaws?

Crocker: The Church is triumphant in that it has survived where all
other earthly powers have faded into history; because it has carried on
the sacraments; because it has proclaimed the teachings of Christ for
2,000-years. The Church is "flawed" only because it works through
human beings who are as flawed as were the Apostles. We also know
that as far as these "flaws" refer to sheer history \ufffd "the black legends"
of the Church \ufffd secular historians are proving them false. This is most
famously the case with the Spanish Inquisition. The traditional portrait
of horror has now been shown irrefutably to be a myth; and in fact we
have a new picture of a judicial body that was among the most lenient
and enlightened of its time. If you don't believe me, look up Henry
Kamen's book from the Yale University Press; or check out the
documentary that the BBC did a few years ago. But this is a continuity
in Church history. The Church rarely responds to its critics. Like the
poster boy of Renaissance popes, Alexander VI, the Church's attitude
has always been: "Rome is a free city where everyone can say or write
whatever he pleases. They say much evil of me, but I don't mind."

I say:

Um, okay. History is largely a battle of spins, but there's no denying the Catholic Church has managed to survive at least since Constantine. (Whether it was there earlier depends on how one defines one's terms.)

Still, you guys really need to do something about those perv priests. No excuses, no more it's-not-just-us, no more empty gosh-ain't-it-just-awful talk. Just kick them out already. It's time to separate the men from the boys, with a crowbar if need be.

Not just those who get caught. All the pedophiles. And not just the pedophiles. All those clergy who covered up for them. If they all go quietly, they can stay in the church as laity. But no official title or duties whatsoever. Ever again.

I gather that the Catholic Church has a thing about kicking people out entirely. They think that if you're not given communion in the right church, you go to Hell, or something like that. This would make anyone with a shred of human decency hesitant to excommunicate anyone, under any circumstances. They might need to junk this particular doctrine, since it's getting in the way of accountability. At some point you have to able to say to anyone who asks: they are not us, and what they do is not what we do. Otherwise, it just looks bad.

The credibility of a venerable religious institution is at stake. The Catholic Church needs to disassociate itself from these two things: the molestation, and the coverup. Make it clear to the world that this is *not* any part what they're all about. Because right now that's not clear at all.

They've got a real problem here. At this rate, only Jocelyn Elders will want to be Catholic.

If just kicking them out of the priesthood works, then fine. But if not, then they'd better bite the bullet.

Supposedly the Pope is really upset about all this, and he's demanding that this sort of thing be reported to him from now on. I don't think that'll do it. It's like demanding a suspect corporation or government turn over all documents. You probably won't know they haven't complied until it's too late.