In February, a Philadelphia grand jury indicted four priests of sex abuse and found evidence that an additional 37 had also abused. The panel that reviews sex abuse cases for the Philadelphia archdiocese was as surprised as anyone. In an article in Commonweal, a lay Catholic publication, the chairwoman of the review board criticizes the archdiocese, saying it “failed miserably at being open and transparent.”
The problem, writes Ana Maria Catanzaro, was the clergy’s attitude of superiority. She writes:
So why haven’t they gotten it? In a word, clericalism. In his book Clericalism: The Death of the Priesthood, George B. Wilson, SJ, articulates “unexamined attitudes” typical of clerical cultures: “Because I belong to the clergy I am automatically credible. I don’t have to earn my credibility by my performance.” And: “Protecting our image is more important than confronting the situation.” And: “We don’t have to be accountable to the laity. We are their shepherds.”
Read The Fog of Scandal on CommonwealMagazine.org.
For catholics, priests are like parents. We are taught that they are the epitome of goodness, since we are small. It’s very difficult to break that programming. Spaths know this, that’s why they are attracted to that role.