If one ever had a moment of doubt about the supernatural provenance of the Church, one need look no further that the new norms regarding clergy abuse — AND women’s ordination.
These two things are like anti-Reese’s peanut butter cups. Two great things that have NO business being smashed together.
The fact that the Church has survived this long and even continues to grow in parts of the world despite worse PR than Mel Gibson is testament to the protection of the Holy Spirit.
Remember, these are the folks who decided rescind the ex-communication of Bishop Williamson of the SSPX right after he said ridiculous things about the holocaust. While the lifting of the sanction was the right thing to do, it should have been accompanied with a statement denouncing Williamson’s comments. Instead, the PR team at the Vatican was again caught napping.
While I am completely on board with the new norms regarding the dingbats involved with female ordination, tying it in with new norms on clerical abuse is about as tone deaf as you can get.
Actually, I take that back. If they had announced new norms that required all altar servers to be boys again. That would have been worse, but just barely.
While this degree of incompetence clearly demonstrates the supernatural protection of the Church, they should remember one thing. God sometimes helps those who help themselves.
It is also written ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ and
Fire the darn PR department.
Amen.
July 16, 2010 at 6:19 am
Fr. Z commented on this earlier. It's worth reading.
http://wdtprs.com/blog/2010/07/some-comments-on-the-new-norms-concerning-graviora-delicta/
July 16, 2010 at 6:43 am
It's cute that you think it's accidental, and that Fr. Lombardi (de facto head of Vatican P.R.) isn't out to destroy this Pope. I commend you for your extremely charitable view of Lombardi's actions over the last several years.
July 16, 2010 at 7:25 am
"If they had announced new norms that required all altar servers to be boys again. That would have been worse, but just barely."
Do you think girls ought to be allowed to serve at the alter, or just that such a ban should be announced separately in a separate document?
July 16, 2010 at 8:13 am
Come on, Patrick. Are they supposed to publish separate revised norms every other month for several years? They published a whole set of recent revisions at once, covering a multitude of matters. It simply makes practical sense. That some people are making false connections and assumptions cannot be helped. Such people are predisposed to suspect the Church no matter what. You simply can't win with such people, so why try.
July 16, 2010 at 9:39 am
I don't believe it is such a big deal. We all know women should not be ordained. The Bible tells us women's place in the world.
First Timothy 2: 11-14 "Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression."
Adam was not deceived by serpent. It was Eve, the woman, who was deceived and thus the transgressor. These are the teachings of God reminding women of their place in society. Their rightful place seemed to have forgotten.
Moreover, the Church does grow, because of our missions in Africa and Latin America. People in the Western World have lost their faith. They are more interested in facts and science, which are wrong.
July 16, 2010 at 11:44 am
The Vatican could have the best PR in all of history and the media would distort the message. Just present the truth in a logical way and leave the PR battle to the faithful Catholics in the ranks wherever we are (in commboxes, at work, etc.)
July 16, 2010 at 2:26 pm
Whoa, something tells me that "Helen" up there is actually named Bob…
I'll remember to quote that to my wife the next time she has the nerve to speak when I am teaching her. Then I will RUN….
July 16, 2010 at 3:28 pm
I don’t think this was as bad a move as the media wants it to be. Not mentioned by them is the fact that both of these crimes are considered offenses against the Sacrament of Holy Orders; one for acting in contradiction to the vows taken, and the other for attempting to usurp the authority of God without any right to do so. There is a good article on this at And Sometimes Tea, which (as I discovered while writing this post) was recently updated to point out that the secular media actually knew that these guidelines were going to be released in the same document for some time, but are suddenly acting “shocked” and “surprised.”
July 16, 2010 at 3:41 pm
Folks
The point is not that the media is spinning this, the point is that everyone knew the media would spin this. They should have been conscious of the fact and split them up.
Why give them extra ammo?
July 16, 2010 at 4:46 pm
I could do a better job of media relations and I have never worked in the field.
The Vatican regularly messes up press releases, media relations, and seems to have no clear understanding of how the Church's statements will be twisted once they are released.
July 16, 2010 at 4:47 pm
I'm not so sure that presenting the two points together was a bad decision. It created one media blitz attack versus two; get it over with. It also probably got more media coverage of the abuse procedures then if they were on their own (some people love to equate pedophilia as Church teaching and won't report on the positive of the Church) even if they didn't get into the actual details, and it allowed the Vatican to get their message out that those who assist in women's ordinations are not in good standing with the Church. When I hear "ordained Roman Catholic priestesses" saying on NPR that they're validly part of the Church, there's something wrong. The Vatican has no control over what the media does. They were going to spin regardless of when these new procedures came out or how they were presented.
July 16, 2010 at 6:29 pm
No, I'm with Patrick on this. You can always take the "Yes, but a thousand years from now…" approach with the Church, but there are certainly better ways to make it clear that the Church does not put the wrongs of clergy abuse and women's ordination on equal pedestals.
July 16, 2010 at 10:21 pm
Patrick,
I get your point, but I think it's not worth worrying about. The media will spin no matter what you do. It sells papers and they hate the Church.
July 17, 2010 at 5:33 am
You lost all credibility when you repeated the nonsense about +Williamson. You know the excommunication was lifted on all four bishops, as one act, for an offense that had zilch to do with his views on anything. You cannot justify keeping an excommunication in place because of PR. Bad PR? Screw pr. This is about something infinitely more important, salvation of souls
And again that the media will pounce on anything should just be noted. The mere fact that both are graviora delicta is enough to make those who speak for the Devil spin…does that mean they shouldn't be graviora delicta? Heck looked at as far as the Church's medicinal penalties go, it is the simulation of the sacrament of orders that merits excommunication, because it is both an act of heresy and strikes on the unity of the Church, whereas other sins, perhaps more grave, do not and even cannot be subject to such penalties at times
July 17, 2010 at 2:34 pm
Our esteemed host is looking at this from the wrong angle. These guidelines are *about the priesthood* and sacrilegious offenses against it. Both the offenses discussed are to-the-core violations of priesthood qua priesthood. The guidelines are not about appealing to the NYT and all its friends. (There is no satisfying them anyway.) Thus the profanation of Christ's sacred Body and Blood is lumped in with despoiling His innocent lambs and with pretending to do what cannot be done, ordination of women. It is all bound by the one subject: Priesthood.
July 17, 2010 at 2:40 pm
Patrick, Since you cite the dust up over Bp Williamson last yr, can I encourage you to go & find the statement issued by the Holy Father subsequent to that incident? In it, he freely acknowledges that the vatican needs to do a better job at communicating but he also asks for a little understanding, in recognition of our shared brotherhood.
July 17, 2010 at 6:30 pm
Whenever the enemies of the Church say something critical of the Church they always find someway of linking it (whatever it is) to the sex abuse scandal.
July 21, 2010 at 9:35 am
The Ignatius Insight site has also commented about the "PR vs. Church authority and its exercise" issue.
http://insightscoop.typepad.com/2004/2010/07/whats-the-old-saying-dont-argue-with-a-fool-onlookers-wont-know-the-difference-true-enough-but-i-think-im-on-safe-ground.html