Opening the Second Vatican Council Pope John XXIII made a remark that defined the nature of the entire council, “Throw open the windows of the church and let the fresh air of the spirit blow through.” It was a call for the church to recognize a need to engage with the modern world, to develop her desire to be a faith for all people and that the church define evangelization as a major reason for…
View More From Open Windows to Broken Windows
Soon after the release of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report on the sexual abuse scandal Professor and Author Scott Walker Hahn posted on his Facebook page a caution about turning to a married priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church as a “simple solution to the problem of clerical scandal.” His point of view is further supported by the notion of a plethora of divorced Protestant pastors (Hahn’s post had the rate at 50% but he later…
View More Four Reasons the Roman Catholic Church should Welcome Married Priests
As the news, discussion and church pulpit’s become places to hear about the latest round of Catholic Church Sexual Abuse Scandal stories thanks in part to the release of the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Grand Jury Report, we have to wonder what news should be shared with young children. As I sit and listen at family gatherings and meals, I see inquisitive eight year old eyes wanting to know what everyone is talking about. It is…
View More Five Ideas on Talking to Kids about Sexual Abuse in Light of the Church Scandal
The Roman Catholic Church in the United States finds itself in crisis, one more time. In the early 2000’s the Boston Globe investigative reporting revealed a child abuse scandal that caused the United States Conference of Catholic bishops to unite and create new procedures in response. It became know within the parishes of the Roman Catholic Church as “Protecting God’s Children.” Armed with this new procedure the church hoped to put the problem in the…
View More The Roman Catholic Church is in a season for real change.