I am a permanent deacon, married and with children; at the same time, I am ministering in my parish. When I was first ordained, I used to joke that I “had a foot in both camps,” as I seemed to be both laity and ordained. But in reality, we a … [Read more...]
Clericalism and the Crisis of the Church
When Steve Skojec and Cardinal Marx Agree
June 30, 2021 by Richard H. Bulzacchelli, STD
It’s not news to anyone who’s been paying attention that the broadly-Catholic world is in a state of crisis. If you’re interested in the long history of how we got to this point, there are plenty of places to look, but that’s not what this e … [Read more...]
Clergy Sex Abuse: Why Do We Still Need to Talk About This?
Often at the scene of a horrific accident, police will tell bystanders to “Move along. There is nothing to see here.” The Catholic Church sex abuse scandal is a terrible tragedy and many laity feel they are being given this very mess … [Read more...]
Clericalism
Betrayal of the Body of Christ
March 28, 2019 by R. Thomas Richard, PhD
Why Is Clericalism so Bad? The most lethal consequence of clericalism, I believe, is the deadening it inflicts upon the Body of Christ, His Church ordered and intended for maturity — for holy, fervent, fruitful and glorious life! The c … [Read more...]
The Screening, Protection, and Crisis Education of Seminarians
January 17, 2019 by Dr. Richard P. Fitzgibbons, MD
Fr. D. Paul Sullins, PhD, is a married Catholic priest. He was formerly an Episcopal minister and has been blessed with a marriage of 30 years and three children. Fr. Sullins recently retired as a Professor of Sociology at the Catholic … [Read more...]
Alexis de Tocqueville, Subsidiarity, and Clericalism
October 29, 2018 by Fr. Charles Klamut
One of my proudest accomplishments in college was reading Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville’s 1830s masterpiece on what really made “democracy” work here, after so many near-misses or never-starts in history. The book was assigned … [Read more...]
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