Stephen P. White

St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s life was small and hidden, seemingly insignificant. But her “Little Way” changed the world.

American Catholics have grown accustomed to seeking the fruits of a healthy Church (and lamenting their absence) – plentiful vocations, widespread devotion among the faithful, solid marriages and families, flourishing ministries to the poor – while taking little care for the spiritual work that makes the Church blossom in the first place.

A new podcast seeks to help Catholics understand the clergy abuse crisis and how the crisis might change our understanding of the Church itself.

The politics of abortion – more than any other issue or policy – have degraded the ability of most American Catholics to reason well about the exercise of prudence.

The delay in the Vatican’s report on the case of Theodore McCarrick is an obstacle to reconciliation within the Church because it is a constant reminder of the institutional maintenance and clerical impunity that have been hallmarks of the Church’s mishandling of abuse cases for decades.

Catholics now have a guidebook, written for non-experts (or at least non-canonists), which provides a simplified explanation of how Rome expects the rest of the Church to handle allegations of clergy sexual abuse.

We owe it to our shepherds to let them try to regain our trust, as hard as that may be. As for our bishops, surely they know how difficult it is to trust a leader who never lets down his guard, who through contempt or fear, refuses to grant the very trust he demands in return.

You don’t need a well-developed theory of justice to be appalled or outraged by real injustices – for example, by police brutality or the killing of George Floyd. But you need it to see clearly what has brought our communities and country to this state of affairs.

Perhaps one problem with our conversations about race is that we want to have things both ways – to heal as one without accepting any responsibility for a whole. We want to proclaim ourselves one people, but without taking responsibility for the parts to which we do not wish to belong.

The intransigence of our political divisions, even between and among Catholics, is a good place to begin thinking about the importance of truly Catholic education for both the Church and the nation.

Those of us who have benefitted so greatly from John Paul II’s accomplishments – and from his intercession now – ought to be equally willing to learn from his failings, too. It would be a pity if we were not so willing. We have nothing to lose and much to gain from the truth.

The actions of the media, lawyers, and victims’ advocacy groups have sometimes been, taken in isolation, very damaging to the Church. But the actions of these same groups have often, over the long term, been a strong force moving the Church in the right direction.