"Their credibility is gone and the trust of the faithful is gone," Francesco Cesareo, chairman of the National Review Board, said of the U.S. bishops as they worked to develop steps to promote greater accountability on abuse.

The National Review Board, established by the bishops in 2002, oversees compliance by dioceses with the "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People."

It has no role in oversight of bishops.

"The bishops have to put their trust in lay leadership and allow that lay leadership to develop the processes and oversight when these kinds of allegations occur, particularly holding bishops accountable," Cesareo said.

In a presentation at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' spring general assembly in June in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Cesareo cautioned the prelates against complacency in meeting the charter's requirements.

He said that auditors preparing the 2016-2017 annual report on the charter's implementation nationwide discovered signs of complacency in some dioceses and eparchies.

"I've been addressing the body of bishops four, five times. I've driven the point that they can't be complacent, and here we are again with another crisis," Cesareo said.

"We went through the crisis in 2002 and had good policies and procedures in place, and allegations and current abuse have gone down," he said.

"But when we see the bishops don't get it, that there's still the notion of self-preservation at the expense of the victim ... it just begs for lay leadership to come forward and to address this and help lead to healing.

"I really think that it's a cultural change that has to take place. We can have all the committees, all the structures and all the policies, but there has got to be a cultural shift in the mindset of the bishops that they too are accountable, that they cannot be held to a different standard," continued Cesareo, president of Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Cesareo was not alone in calling for a separate body to be established to handle accusations of abuse involving bishops.

While details varied, the basic premise envisions that such a board would review abuse allegations or complaints of improper handling of an abuse claim by any bishop.

Just such a body has been sought since 2002, when the abuse scandal arose in the Archdiocese of Boston, by the church reform group Voice of the Faithful, said Donna Doucette, executive director.

"Having accountability from the bishops is absolutely the key. It is not possible for the bishops to police themselves. We as an organization believe that there must be an independent lay-led and dominated board," Doucette told CNS.

"It's heartening that finally after all these years, and we hope it's more than just verbiage, that the very things that the bishops attacked us for saying, they're saying it now," she added. Continue reading

As one young delegate said to me, "The church is living at an inflection point; these are truly urgent times."

This young Latino had just witnessed the close of the national gathering meant to culminate the "Encuentro" (encounter, meeting,) process of the past year.

Conversations around tables and hallways witnessed to this historical moment.

One topic of conversation had dominated the headlines for months, only to be dwarfed recently by a second.

The first, the relentless attack on immigrants and the animus toward Latinos in the United States, was on the mind of most delegates.

But the second problem had pushed immigration out of the headlines.

The hierarchy of the U.S. Catholic Church was implicated and under investigation in several states, with evidence piling up of unspeakable crimes of sexual abuse by clergy and those who covered it up.

And so we mourned doubly: for the suffering of countless victims of sexual abuse and for the loss of the moral authority of our church to speak out on other issues.

What would a national gathering of over 3,000 Hispanic Catholics, centered on Pope Francisco's exhortation to be missionary disciples to the peripheries look like in this atmosphere?

The delegates expected to deal with the painful reality and hoped to nurture their resolve for the hard work ahead, and in many corners of the Encuentro, this happened in conversation.

A determination to serve and help was voiced often by delegates of all ages.

Church acceptance of God-given talents

We also heard often the rejection, followed by the hope that, at this moment of upheaval in the church and in our nation, the dones (talents and commitments) of Latinx Catholics will be accepted and valued.

Yet, as I spoke with my fellow participants and observed the events, what became clear was that, at times, the formal program revealed an institution still struggling to meet the needs of the moment.

Ongoing conversation

Drawing on these conversations and observations, I would like to suggest a few points that may help guide the ongoing conversation about the needs of the Latinx church.

Young adults are ready and willing to take on responsibility for and within the church. And many already have.

The feeling of sometimes being treated as children dismayed young leaders.

One young woman with major responsibilities at her diocese and a master's degree in theology felt that the meeting for the bishops and young adults was too focused on "music and chanting and an atmosphere that did not take us seriously."

The young adults I spoke with felt that at times their roles as lay ministers running offices and parish programs were not understood.

Juan Pablo Padilla, the coordinator for youth and young adult ministry/pastoral juvenil for the Archdiocese of Chicago confronted the bishops in one of the few moments of candor.

He urged the critical reorganization of power structures, especially at parishes, noting that "young people are often not even given a place to meet by resistant pastors."

Reminding us that the majority of young Catholics in the United States are Latinas/os, he asked the bishops to make budget adjustments and inclusion efforts in order to give lay Latinx Catholics the respect, autonomy and authority to do the work they have been trained to do.

Inclusion of women is critical to engagement

Although some bishops are committed to nurturing Latinx lay leadership, this was not evident in much of the program.

Despite the presence of exceedingly qualified lay experts and religious women, few had prominent roles as presenters of content or reflections.

Similarly, during the Visperas and Laudes (morning and evening prayers) and Eucharistic liturgies, a total of seven worship celebrations, women were excluded from almost all of the liturgical ministries.

Accustomed to being actively involved in the worship life of their parishes, this shocked many of the women present. Continue reading

• Edith Avila Olea, associate director for justice and peace in the Diocese of Joliet, Ill., speaks to delegates during the "Getting Involved" panel presentation Sept. 21 at the Fifth National Encuentro, in Grapevine, Texas.
• Image: CNS

In a circular distributed on 7 December Archbishop Dew wrote:

"As you are aware, early last year I initiated a Focus Group to look at the future of the Archdiocese, and to help me discern what the future might look like in terms of what resources we have for the mission of the Archdiocese, how many parishes will we need to help us fulfill that mission."

We are now ready to take the next step. We have drawn up a set of proposals regarding the future of the Archdiocese. Early in the New Year, I will present these proposals to the three canonical bodies (Council of Priests, Board of Administration, Archdiocesan Pastoral Council).

"I will also arrange for meetings with clergy and lay pastoral leaders. I will then begin a series of meetings in regions and/or Pastoral Areas to present these proposals to all in the Archdiocese. Details of these proposals will be given in the documentation provided at each of these meetings. I look forward to sharing this "future full of hope" with you , and listening to your response."

Archbishop Dew says he is grateful for the work of the Focus Group. "They have been totally dedicated to the task at hand. We have met many times, engaged in a widespread consultation process, read a huge amount of information, studied and debated options for the future. Above all, we have prayed through this material, and listened for the voice of the Spirit calling us into "a future full of hope" (cf Jer 29:11)."

Source

• Archdiocese of Wellington
• Image: Open Calais

Here are some trends I see in the American Church and how I see the future developing. The first thing is the disintegration of denominationalism. It used to be that the different Protestant groups were distinct in their theology and their style of worship. There were boundaries. You pretty much knew what to expect in a Southern Baptist Church, a Methodist Church, Lutheran, Presbyterian or Episcopal. There were clear distinctions theologically and culturally and historically.

The boundaries are disappearing fast. In all Protestant churches there is a kind of post-modern pick and mix attitude. The old distinctive markers are falling and a new experimental attitude is taking place. So a relative of mine, a young Baptist minister, enthusiastically claims to "read all those guys" meaning that he avidly reads Anglican, Catholic, Baptist, Independent and classical Lutheran and Methodist theologians. He and his generation are also open to all sorts of worship styles. Their attitude is shared by the younger generation of Evangelicals in all denominations. People are no longer Methodist or Presbyterian or Baptist for life and for clear theological reasons. Instead they gravitate to a church that suits them and their lifestyle. Utilitarianism and market forces reign supreme.

The two trends within the Protestant churches seem to be toward free "mega church" type worship which conforms to the trends in society or a reaction against that to move toward "liturgy". So a neighbor who goes to a conservative Presbyterian church likes to tell me how "liturgical" they are. They observe Advent and Lent and Ash Wednesday. They light candles on the "altar" when they "celebrate communion" and every once in a while they have "Choral Evensong." Another friend tells me he goes to a Baptist Church that is "very liturgical."

I predict that the disintegration of denominationalism will continue and that trends within the Catholic Church will converge with what is happening within Protestantism to produce some very interesting and new configurations. Read more

Sources

• Fr Dwight Longenecker's Blog and Podcast
• Image: Fr Longenecker's Bio