Posts Tagged ‘Clericalism’

Clericalism’s fixation on sexual morality

Monday, September 30th, 2019

Clericalism is a direct result of rigidity and linked to a fixation on sexual morality, says Pope Francis. “One dimension of clericalism is the exclusive moral fixation on the sixth commandment [Thou shalt not commit adultery],” he says. “We focus on sex and then we do not give weight to social injustice, slander, gossip and Read more

Clericalism’s day coming to an end

Thursday, September 19th, 2019

Clericalism is coming to an end, says Marie Collins, who is a clergy sexual abuse survivor from Ireland. However, Vatican officials needed “a safeguarding policy” in place ages ago to prevent abuse and address it when it occurs. Collins says a policy of this sort was promised at the Vatican summit on child protection in Read more

Cardinal Dew: The only authority is the authority of service

Monday, July 22nd, 2019
servant leadership

The archbishop of Wellington, Cardinal John Dew, was in Australia last week to present an address on Servant Leadership in the Spirit of Pope Francis. He spoke at Our Lady of Mercy College, Parramatta on Tuesday. On Wednesday he spoke on the same topic when he presented the Helder Camara Lecture at Newman College in Melbourne. Read more

“Don’t call me Father” gets mixed reception

Thursday, June 6th, 2019
father

Cardinal John Dew’s call to drop the “Father” title has received mixed results. As reported by CathNews, Dew first raised the issue of honorifics in an internal church newsletter. Describing the “Don’t call me Father” call as ‘simple’, Dew however hopes that not using the clerical title might go some way to changing the clerical Read more

The elephant in the room: The clergy

Monday, April 15th, 2019
clergy

“It seems the younger priests emerging from seminaries, here and elsewhere, are getting better (or worse!) at demanding full allegiance from the laity,” said an email I received this week. Last Saturday the Archbishop of Johannesburg, Buti Tlhagale, preached about his woes – and sufferings – as a diocesan bishop at the first profession of Read more

I now wonder why priests are called Father

Thursday, April 11th, 2019
Father

In his recent Newsletter, the Archbishop of Wellington drew attention to an article written by a priest from France, Jean-Pierre Roche, entitled “Stop calling me Father.” In his article, Roche says that priests may be able to make some small changes to overcome clericalism if they gave up expecting to be called “Father.” “In August last Read more

Antidote to Clericalism

Thursday, February 21st, 2019
clericalism

If the problem is clericalism, what is the solution? It is axiomatic that vices cannot simply be eliminated—they have to be replaced with something better, or else they will just come back, often in a form that is even worse. (Cf. Mt. 12:44-45) So it is a bit worrisome that when Pope Francis frequently mentions Read more

Catholics face choices in midst of ‘demonic storm’

Monday, October 29th, 2018

A senior Vatican cardinal believes Catholics face two choices as the Church experiences a “perfect demonic storm” due to sexual abuse. “We are at a moment of serious crisis, probably the greatest crisis our Church has faced in many centuries,” said Cardinal Edwin O’Brien, who visited New Zealand from September 13 to 16. Continue reading Read more

Clericalism renders the baptised subservient to preening priests

Thursday, October 18th, 2018
clericalism

Once every five years the priests in New Zealand meet nationally for a professional development week. This time it was in Christchurch. And the experience was seismic. No priest or Bishop could have left that week unshaken. The two input speakers – each very different from the other – shook us to the core. Take Read more

Pope orders review of McCarrick’s files

Monday, October 8th, 2018

The Vatican archives containing Archbishop Theodore McCarrick’s files are to be reviewed, says Pope Francis. A statement Francis has released from the Vatican says he has decided to combine the results of an investigation into McCarrick begun last year with a new, “thorough study” of all the documentation about him contained in the Vatican archives. Read more