Fools in the Vatican Get Out the Brooms!

Lifesite News, which I've criticized recently, posts this story:

Catholic News Service has announced that Rome is set to start its long-awaited "apostolic visitation," or systematic investigation and evaluation of the formation offered to prospective priests in seminaries. With many bishops studiously ignoring what has become the ecclesiastical equivalent of the elephant in the drawing room, Rome may be planning to force the issue at last.

The last Vatican-led visitation was seven years in duration beginning in 1981. The report given to Pope John Paul II, according to some observers, amounted to a whitewash in which the theological and moral dissent being taught was deliberately ignored or hidden.

This time, after years of mounting sexual abuse scandals in which certain bishops were implicated in a massive cover-up, and after some dioceses have declared bankruptcy and closed parishes to pay off settlements, Catholics may be hopeful that the real issues will at last be addressed. The Vatican has named Edwin F. O'Brien Archbishop for the Military Services as the coordinator for the project.

O'Brien's may be a familiar name to pro-life Catholics, especially those in the military, for his letter of 2000 that forcefully upheld the Church's teaching that the right to life has primacy over other social concerns. Writing on the priorities for Catholic voters, he said, "One subject stands out as preeminent --foundational to every other. And that is the sacred dignity of human life and the right to life itself !"

Catholic News Service confirms the story, although in more measured tones:

The Vatican-run apostolic visitation of U.S. Catholic seminaries and houses of priestly formation will begin late this September.

Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, who will coordinate the visits, announced details of the plan Aug. 19.

Sparked by the sexual abuse crisis that hit the U.S. church in 2002, the visitations will pay special attention to areas such as the quality of the seminarians' human and spiritual formation for living chastely and of their intellectual formation for faithfulness to church teachings, especially in the area of moral theology.

The Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education, which oversees seminary formation around the world, has appointed 117 bishops and seminary personnel as visitors. They are to visit each college- or theology-level institution, working in teams of three for smaller programs or four for the larger ones.

The education congregation developed the visitation program in collaboration with the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. About one-third of U.S. seminarians in graduate studies are preparing to be priests in religious orders.

In selecting the visitors the congregation consulted with the Conference of Major Superiors of Men and the Committee on Priestly Formation of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Archbishop O'Brien is to appoint resource people, including deacons, religious and lay people, to assist in the visitation process and participate in visits to the larger institutions.

The objectives of this "Apostlic visitation", according to CNS:

The announcement said the visitation objectives designated by the education congregation are:

-- "To examine the criteria for admission of candidates and the programs of human formation and spiritual formation aimed at ensuring that they can faithfully live chastely for the kingdom."

-- "To examine other aspects of priestly formation in the United States. Particular attention will be reserved for the intellectual formation of seminarians, to examine fidelity to the magisterium, especially in the field of moral theology, in the light of 'Veritatis Splendor,'" Pope John Paul II's 1993 encyclical on Catholic moral teaching.

This sounds like good news. I'm troubled by only two factors:

1. Why wait 24 years to hold another Vatican-directed Apostlic Visitation. Especially in light of the 2002 scandal that continues to unfold, Couldn't the Curia have initiated this any sooner? I understand Pope JPG was ailing. I appreciate that the Church thinks in centuries, not seconds. I know the Vatican Curea has it's own bureacratic rhythm. I'm well aware of the Pope's earnest belief and practice of collegiality.

I also know where in the Roman Catholic Church the buck stops. It stops at the See of St. Peter. Someone in the Vatican should have rolled this ball a long time ago.

2. Who are the Bishops that will participate? The credibility of this project will depend on who they are. CNS mentioned only one--the one in charge. I don't know anything about Archbishop O'Brien. Neither does Episcopal Spine Alert! They know about a lot of other strong-spined Episcopals. This doesn't look encouraging:

Twenty years ago, the Rev. Thomas Doyle warned the nation's Roman Catholic bishops about the church's looming sexual abuse nightmare. Since then, he has become a hero to the victims, speaking out on their behalf and helping them in legal cases in recent years.

In doing so, Father Doyle also became a thorn in the side of the church hierarchy.

In the latest chapter of his turbulent career, Father Doyle was quietly removed from his job as an Air Force chaplain in a clash with his archbishop over pastoral issues.

He lost his endorsement as a chaplain from the Archdiocese of Military Services in September, a decision that until now had not become public. The leader of the Archdiocese of Military Services, Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien, said Father Doyle had flouted his guidelines about requiring daily Mass for Catholics on military bases and other pastoral issues.

But the demotion has outraged abuse victims and their advocates, who point to the last several years of scandals as affirmation of Father Doyle's longstanding concerns. They say they suspect he was reassigned in retaliation by the church hierarchy. And it has produced a messy coda to a military career that Father Doyle said he loved deeply.

Granted, the Reasonable NY Times spins it's usual dissenter-as-hero motif. Fr. Doyle himself sounds like a classic Foolable dissenter-in-faithful-clothing. Still, given the literally scandalous behavior of so many bishops in relation to the scandal, Archbishop O'Brien's appearance of ostracizing a Priest sexual-abuse scandal whistle-blower doesn't comfort me. All I need now is a short list of Bishops with Roger Mahony and Edward Egan on the top! Diogenes over at CWN had his doubts about Archbishop O'Brien long before I did!

In spite of these concerns, I'm happy the Vatican has come through now. If the Curia now act as Foolish as I pray they do, then I expect to see many brooms sweep a whole lot of Foolable nonsense and their misguided advocates out the doors of US seminaries.

It's long overdue!