...or is a Church with too many secret societies bound to have too many secrets?

In what appears to be an earnest effort to (finally) get ahead of the sexual abuse scandal in his Church, Pope Benedict XVI is moving to clean up at least one aspect of ecclesiastic criminal conduct. The Pope has ordered an investigation into the administration of a sub-sect in Catholicism called the Legion of Christ. Turns out that this nest of uber-Catholics was founded and led by Father Marcial Maciel Degollado, a Mexican bi-sexual priest with a string of offenses that would make a cartel druglord blush. His list of mortal sins includes: drug abuse, the wholesale plagiarism of a book, financial irregularities within his organization and, the ever popular, sex with both seminarians and female members of his flock. (For bonus points, he had a child by one of them.) On the plus side, he did give up sweets for Lent.


This little episode didn't surface recently amid global tales of clerical transgression. Father Macial's peccadillos have been under investigation since 1956. That's 54 years. Allowing for the glacial movement of the wheels of justice, this is the equivalent of holding the Nuremberg trials in 2002. If you're wondering what was holding up the show, look no further than the usual suspects. It seems that Father Macial had a friend in a very high place. Before Pope John Paul II went knock, knock, knocking on heaven's door, he spent twenty years defending this despicable felon. Apparently the ability to recruit priests (with the offer of candy and a ride in the pope-mobile) and his ability to raise money, trumped morality and obedience to one's vows. When an investigation was launched by the bishop of Mexico City, it was squelched by none other than Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger aka Benedict the sixteenth of that name. To be fair, there is a rumor afoot that the order to halt the investigation came directly from JPII. Little messy scandals like this are why a rush to sainthood for the former pope is such a bad idea.


Of greater concern to the Church should be the damage done to her already tattered reputation by the revelation of secret societies within the clergy and the laity. We aren't talking about religious orders of priests and nuns who operate in the open and whose good works are legion. However, super groups like Regnum Christi (a sub-sub set of Father Maciel's "Legion") and Opus Dei have amassed money and power behind closed doors. Rome has been thusfar unable to resist the lure of devout sub-groups with big money and backstage passes to the halls of influence. The RCC has been less tolerant of organizations like the Freemasons or the Oddfellows whose leadership Rome does not control.


The problem with anointing these over-the-top zealots is that, like all poor sinners, they have feet of clay. Revelations of financial misconduct or sexual dalliance among its leaders taint not just the group but Mother Church as well. Considering that Rome has spent 50 years attempting to perfume the smell coming from the Legion of Christ, it becomes difficult to plead ignorance.


Sadly, Benedict has not moved to disband the Legion. A symbiotic relationship stretching back through six pontificates is difficult to sever. Nevertheless it needs to happen. The Vatican must consult a dictionary for the meaning of "catholic". Mine says, "universal, involving all". This isn't Scientology. There aren't levels of devotion. There is no "my faith is stronger than your faith" test. If you're so inclined, become a priest or a nun or a deacon. Forget secret societies and secret handshakes. Nothing good ever comes of meetings held in the dark.

...or will Benevict XVI soon discover how small a country Vatican City is when he tries to hide there?

Piling on would be pointless. When every newspaper and web site in America and Europe is carrying some version of the Catholic Church's abusive clergy scandal, there isn't much to add. Individual stories of atrocities and cover-ups will continue to ooze from all corners of the Christian world. Rome will continue to vacillate between apology and excuse. Victims will write books and Cardinals from here and there will offer explanations. Everyone is missing the point.


The most interesting and comprehensive attempt at justification was penned by Rev. James Martin, S.J. who divides his treatise equally between plausible ("bishops had no idea how widespread the problem was" or "bishops were uncomfortable confronting abusive priests") and ridiculous ("bishops under-appreciated the harm to the victims" and" it's too hard to defrock a priest"). He does however strike two issues that go to the heart of the matter: bishops feared litigation because of the bad press and, the Church did not want to give its enemies a club with which to beat it. How's that working out for you?


I'd carpel tunnel from listing the scandals that would have been minimized or forgotten if only the public figures involved had come clean at the outset. From Nixon to Clinton, from Heidi Fleiss to Tiger Woods the story is always the same: scandal strikes...the spin doctors converge to plan how to keep the story contained...reporters, smelling a cover-up, dig furiously...the cover-up unravels...the spin doctors are nowhere to be found...Jay Leno and Co. have a new punching bag for three months.


The Church in Rome is currently working overtime to 1) spread the blame, 2) avoid blame, 3) attack critics and 4) minimize the crime. In recent years the College of Cardinals has swelled to more than 120 members and one can surmise that most have been put to work in the PR Dept. The latest attempt to exonerate the former Archbishop of Munich/current Pope is to blame the guy who had the job before him, John Paul II. This stratagem has worked well, up to a point, for President Obama. The story is that Cardinal Ratzinger of Munich reported an abusive priest to Rome and Rome demurred. As to why the Cardinal allowed the priest to return to parish work (and abuse more kids) is a bit fuzzy. I guess the defense is "hey, I did my job..." This might hold water if you're working at the GM plant but, when you're the Vicar of Christ, we hold you to a higher standard.


The idea of blaming your dead predecessor is a tricky business. JP II is revered throughout Christendom. There is talk of fast-tracking him to sainthood. The faithful will surely take a dim view of besmirching John Paul to save the hide of a guilty German. The Church is already trailing in the PR wars. The Pope's polling numbers in America (yes Virginia, even the Pope has poll numbers) have slipped so far that you'd think he voted for the healthcare bill.


The "Catholic Church as Victim" strategy has loser written all over it. You are not the victim when priests who answer to you abuse children and you do nothing but suborn the abuse. You are not the victim when your cozy relationship with the government of Ireland caused the institutionalizing of torture, imprisonment and intolerable abuse for 100+ years. You are not the victim when self preservation and secrecy were preferred over concern for the children entrusted to your care. What you are is a self-perpetuating, self-serving ecclesiastical bureaucracy whose first thought in any crisis is self-protection.

Yes, the Catholic Church has enemies but none as dangerous as bishops who sweep every controversial issue under their very expensive carpet. If Rome doesn't start dealing with this issue openly and honestly, future generations will visit the Vatican with the same curiosity with which they visit Chichen Itza in Mexico; wondering what could have destroyed the culture that built such wonderful buildings.