Bishop Robinson says he is "disappointed" in fellow Australian bishops
Print Friendly VersionBy Dennis Coday
NCR staff writer
Australian Bishop Geoffery Robinson has said he is “disappointed” in his fellow bishops, who last week issued a statement saying they had found “doctrinal difficulties” with Robinson’s book on sex abuse and reform in the Catholic church.
Robinson is in the United States on a book tour for Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church: Reclaiming the Spirit of Jesus, which was published last fall in Australia is now available in North American through Collegeville, Minn.-based Liturgical Press.
Robinson, 71, is the retired auxiliary bishop of Sydney and led the Austrailan bishops’ committee that addressed sexual abuse by Catholic clergy.
The Australian bishops’ conference issued a statement May 6 that rejected the reformist proposals advocated by Bishop Robinson in his book. They stated that "the authority entrusted by Christ to his church may at times be poorly exercised, especially in shaping policy and practice in complex areas of pastoral and human concern. This does not, in Catholic belief, invalidate the church's authority to teach particular truths of faith and morals."
Robinson issued a response to the bishops’ statement May 15. The text of that statement follows:
The statement of the Australian bishops is not unexpected, but it is disappointing. My book is about the response to the revelations of sexual abuse within the church. Sexual abuse is all about power and sex, so it is surely reasonable to ask questions about power and sex in the church.
In their statement, the bishops appear to be saying that, in seeking to respond to abuse, we may investigate all other factors contributing to abuse, but we may not ask questions concerning ways in which teachings, laws, and attitudes concerning power and sex within the church may have contributed.
This imposes impossible restrictions on any serious and objective study, and it is where I have broken from the Bishops Conference. We must be free to follow the argument wherever it leads.
Bishop Geoffrey Robinson
15th May 2008
Earlier this week, the web site Catholic Australia (www.catholica.com.au), made available a letter from Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony to Robinson denying Robinson permission to speak in Los Angeles archdiocese. The letter from Mahony was dated May 9 and cite canon law 763, which says a diocesan bishop must “safeguard the preaching of God's Word and the teachings of the church in his own diocese.”
Mahony’s letter “requests” and “urges” Robinson to cancel his U.S. speaking tour. The letter notes that “His Eminence, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the Prefect for the Congregation of BIshops, has urged you to cancel your visit to the United States.”
Robinson is scheduled as keynote speaker at a the symposium "Rebuilding the Catholic Church" today in Philadelphia.
After Philadelphia, Robinson will be visiting Chevy Chase, Md. (May 19), Morristown, N.J. (May 21), Manhasset, Long Island, N.Y. (May 22), Fairfield, Conn. (May 24), Dedam, Mass. (May 29), Cleveland, Ohio (June 5), Seattle, Wash. (June 7), San Diego, Calif. (June 10), and Los Angeles (June 12).
Information on the Philadelphia symposium is available on the co-sponsors’ Web sites: Voice of the Faithful of Greater Philadelphia and Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church.
Contact information for Robinson’s other U.S. stops is here: Tour schedule.
Read more about Bishop Robinson's book and his U.S. tour here,
Australia’s reform minded bishop schedules U.S. tour, and here,
Bishop’s book calls for ‘a better church’ and here,
Australian bishops find 'difficulties' in retired bishop's book on church reform
Collegeville, Minn.-based Liturgical Press has obtained the North American rights to Robinson’s book, and it is now available for purchase here.
If Church teaching on sex
If Church teaching on sex creates sin and pedophiles in the Church, it is a teaching that all people of conscience should question. I am thankful that Bishop Robinson is voicing his questions and concerns with truth and honesty. I can only feel more sorrow and pity for a Church that would want to silence, or worse, condemn the truth.
The Bishops of Australia and
The Bishops of Australia and the United States are upset with Bishop Robinson's book and presentations. Their protests would be almost amusing, if they weren't so pathetic. Bishop Robinson points out what so many other writers have expounded upon, e.g. the church's governance only insures that injustices in the Church will continue to well up without cessation. The sexual-abuse tsunami that swept over the Church in America, was the result of decades and decades of abuse pounding away on flimsy dikes and ignored by the hierachy. And, as a Church, we are still water-logged because of it.
But in addition to that---the current crisis of priestly vocations is also tied up with the status-quo governance of the Church on the highest levels. Because the official Church insists that a 'discipline' of the Western Church, e.g. manditory celebacy, in use for almost 1000 years--continues to be 'law' in the Church, we will increasingly see church closings, Eucharistic Famines, and priests being forced into 'circut riding' to care for thousands of parishioners.
And a frightening specter is being raised in Australia right now. There is at least one diocese (and quite a few more)that will have (provided that no priests become disabled or die)only 19 priests including the bishop, available in 2014---just 7 years from now. This is the Diocese of Canberra, which is the size of the country of Germany. And just about all of these priests and the bishop will be senior men--having to drive long, long distances to care for the spiritual needs of the people. Yet, the Australian Bishops criticize Bishop Robinson and Cardinal Mahoney forbids him to speak in his archdiocese--because he is thinking, God-forbid,
"outside of the box."
A true sign of insanity is to insist upon dealing with complex and new problems, by applying the same practices from the past. Too many of the church's authorities continue to interpret and apply the church's rules/disciplines in routine and predictable ways.
Stability is a commendable virtue, but creativity and imagination will also be sorely needed to face today's and tomorrow's crises. Writers like Bishop Robinson will continue to be given the cold shoulder by the hierarchy. When time runs out and opportunity stops knocking on their door, will the hierachy remember that Robinson might have said to them, "I told you so."
The issue of why Bishop
The issue of why Bishop Robinson gets such a broad negative reaction is a complex one. If he was merely an advocate for sexual abuse victims and solving the crisis, then he would still be barred by bishops like Cardinal Mahoney. If he were just an advocate for "Change" everywhere in the Church he would be welcomed with open arms in LA.
Likewise, his theological claims close doors where his efforts for reform do not. Even some who support his efforts have trouble with his attempt to change everything in one fell swoop. America magazine's Richard Gaillardetz says "Given my substantial sympathy for some of Robinson’s insights and proposals, I have to confess a deep frustration with the shoddy argumentation that is marshaled in defense of many of his proposals, arguments that lead him to unnecessary positions." Positions that range from a rejection of Church teaching on sexual morality to the Dogma of the Ascension.
He, like Bishop Gumbleton here in the US, makes a poor spokesman for the victims of sexual abuse, because of their adversarial stands with Catholic theology. My advice to those who really want to see movement: find someone who is willing to fly the single flag of fixing this problem who is entirely faithful to the Church. Then I think action will come much quicker.
---
As to the vocations crisis, there are myriad factor that can be pointed out that have nothing to do with the structure of the Church: the sexualization of our culture, the declining birth rate, the lack of support by parents, the feminization of religion, the increase in the secular nature of our culture, the increase in materialism in our culture, the lack of holy priests,...
Orthodox Churches with the married priesthood are also facing a shortage of priests. Perhaps this is not necessarily the solution.
++++++
nightwalker on Catholic Answers
Yup, if only we let priests (abuser rate as high as 1.7%) get married like protestant ministers (2-3%) or teachers (5%) we would solve the problem!.. Or not..
Please talk more about the
Please talk more about the feminization of religion.
In those "latter days" the
In those "latter days" the church will relent and make the exception the rule without admitting same and eventually relent on the rule itself. The sad, sad thing though is that such compromises are nothing short of 'doing the wrong thing for the right reason' rather doing the right thing simply because it is right and just. How can we expect the Holy Spirit to intervene when we have closed our eyes and hearts to justice as well as Justice.
I hasten to add however that this will not solve the problem nor, necessarily would admittng women to priesthood. Protestant denominations which have married clergy and to a large extent dealt with women clerics are also suffering a diminution of clergy.
This does not, in Catholic
This does not, in Catholic belief, invalidate the church's authority to teach particular truths of faith and morals."
We have a very clear example of that tension in Brooklyn. For years the diocese required its teachers to tell children that "You do not own your body."
This was, of course, based on the scripture that reads: " You are not your own; you have been purchased at a great price."
The diocese insisted on interpreting that scripture as: You do not own your body-- as an antidote to the assumption: It's my body, why can't I touch it the way I want to?
So by trying to keep kids from masturbating, the diocese placed these kids in a precarious place where they were unable to reject the advances of priests.
The new curriculum includes a comic book that says very clearly:Your body belongs to you.
Nothing in this sequence invalidates the church's authority to teach. It simply uses the discernment of the Holy Spirit to fashion a way to preserve the integrity of the scripture and to protect our kids at the same time.
Just when Benedict XVI met
Just when Benedict XVI met with victims of sexual abuse and we thought we had a reason to be proud of at least one church leader, we now have this. Bishop Robinson no doubt has something very important and prophetic to say. otherwise he wouldn't be met with such fear by so many church leaders. Their public expression of fear has made me very interested to hear what he has to say on the abuse of power in the church. Unfortunately, he isn't speaking in my area. I guess I'll just have to read his book.
Roger Mahony's record on priestly sex abuse of children is only slightly better than Bernard Law's. It is no wonder that he should be very afraid that Bishop Robinson should speak in his diocese.
Cashelguy
Is this a news item or an ad
Is this a news item or an ad for Robinson's tour?
WEll, you're right on one
WEll, you're right on one thing: this activity sure sells books! We seem to have a hierarchy who has found a new approach to promulgating the List of Forbidden Books, what was that called? And some day, people will be paying them on the side to get the free advertisement. Now I wonder if it's time for a new edition of a Victor Hugo book??
Perhaps a better view of
Perhaps a better view of what Bishop Robinson is about can come from the Australians themselves. The following comment is written by Fr. Daniel Donovan, a lecturer at the School of Religious Education at ACU National and a fequent contributor to "Catholica Australia" a corresponding version of NCRcafe. Fr. Donovan writes.
"The Churches in Australia and for that matter around the world have been mired for many years in the allegations of sexual abuse of persons by members of the clergy. This has led to universal condemnation for two major reasons. Firstly, there was an abuse of power by the perpetrators who took advantage of their position to harm the vulnerable. Secondly, the failure of Church leaders to deal effectively with the victims’ complaints and the attempts to cover up the matter. Bishop Geoffrey Robinson in Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church: Reclaiming the Spirit of Jesus, has had the courage to place this issue in the public forum. Robinson does not deny or call into question any teaching of the Church nor does he either in the book or at any time in his public lectures attack the teaching magisterium of the Church.
The Australian Bishops claim that the people “have a right to know clearly what the Catholic Church believes and teaches, and the Bishops have a duty to set this forth…” Robinson has never denied this. Rather he has addressed those issues which (as noted above) the Bishops were not setting forth in clear and specific teaching. Daily the Church was facing serious criticism for its failure to respond officially to the sufferings of victims of sexual abuse and their families.
It seems to me unconscionable that both the Australian Bishops and Cardinal Mahoney of Los Angeles would turn on a brother Bishop because he has called for not a change in orthodox teaching but rather he emphasises orthopraxis. No one, least of all Robinson, is questioning truth but there is the corresponding duty to communicate the truth and this has been the importance of Robinson’s contribution. If the Church is to take seriously the healing process then it must not deny debate and ban dialogue. This would be to substitute intellectual abuse for sexual abuse. It is always unsettling when debate and discussion is stifled in the name of truth! It might be worth adopting the advice of the Pharisee, Gamaliel, who counsels the Sanhedrin “to take no action against these men” (the apostles, Acts 5:38). Gamaliel goes onto explain that if the if the teaching is “of human origin” then it will disappear but if it is of “divine origin” then they might be “fighting against God” (Acts 5:38-39)."