With the resurgence of the consequences of sexual scandals, December presented Pope Leo with a bill that, indirectly but forcefully, poses serious problems for the Roman Catholic Church.
Mid-month, **Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan**, born in 1950, made a sensational announcement: the archdiocese of New York, which he leads, has initiated the fundraising of three hundred (three hundred!) million dollars to compensate one thousand three hundred alleged victims of sexual abuse by clergy or people linked to Church structures, in the period between 1952 and 2020. To raise that sum, he explained, the archdiocese will have to cut staff and sell its assets (such as buildings), but, as he implied, will also ask for the support of the faithful.
«The sexual abuse of minors that occurred long ago —he said— has shamed our Church. I ask forgiveness for the failure of those who betrayed the trust placed in them by not guaranteeing the safety of our young people.” Given the period of time examined —nearly seventy years—, **the “crimes” were committed when the archdiocese was led by other cardinals, their predecessors; but now Dolan pays for everyone and loses his position.**
De hecho, el 18 de diciembre, el Papa aceptó su dimisión y eligió en su lugar al obispo de Joliet (Illinois), Ronald A. Hicks, nacido en 1967. Unlike his predecessor, who was a public supporter of Donald Trump, Hicks is critical of the president’s anti-immigration policy. Apart from this, there is a detail that overshadows Dolan. In fact, since Paul VI introduced the rule that bishops, at 75 years of age, must submit their resignation from the dioceses they govern, it has been customary in the Vatican that, if they are cardinals, the minimum age is 77 years. Why has this limit not been respected in Dolan’s case?
The Holy See has no direct responsibility for what has happened in New York over the decades; perhaps there, in the recent past, something was already known about the clerical pedophilia, but it was normally all concealed in silence. Thus, now, the Simon of Cyrene who will have to carry the cross will be the newly elected archbishop, who, in *L’Osservatore Romano* on December 18, declares himself very aware of the seriousness of the problem and assures that he will do everything possible to guarantee compensation to the victims of clerical pedophilia. A purpose that will be difficult to maintain, given the very high total sum that the New York archdiocese will have to disburse.
Faced with this situation, many deliberations are taking place within the Roman Curia regarding how – in general, and taking into account the standard of living in different countries – to curb the pedophilia of the clergy, and about the “amount” of compensation to be paid to victims. In this context, on December 22nd, the Apostolic Letter Una fidelitas que genera futuro [A Loyalty that Generates Future] by the Pope was published, dated December 8th of the same month, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the conciliar decrees Optatam Totius (on priestly training) and Presbyterorum Ordinis (PO, on the life and ministry of priests).
Starting from PO, approved by the Council in 1965, the pontiff extracts and comments on the essential traits that should characterize the life of the presbyter (the priest) (piety, pastoral commitment, the necessary collaboration between brothers). On a topic—the pedophilia of the clergy—completely ignored sixty years ago, Prevost writes: « In recent decades, the crisis of trust in the Church provoked by the abuses committed by members of the clergy, which fill us with shame and call us to humility, has made us even more aware of the urgency of comprehensive training that ensures the human growth and maturity of candidates for the priesthood, along with a rich and solid spiritual life». However, there are no in-depth analyses of this thorny issue.
**But what is most surprising is that León remained silent on a topic that, at the Council, regarding the PO scheme, triggered a lively debate: the celibacy of priests.** A debate that, in the fourth conciliar session, became increasingly animated and that, perhaps, would have led some Western bishops to request the overcoming of mandatory priestly celibacy in the Latin Church, which represented (and continues to represent) 95% of Catholics on the planet. Paul VI, very concerned about the emergence of a hypothesis he did not like, hastily closed the ongoing conciliar debate and reserved the decision on the matter to himself.
He did so in June 1967, with the encyclical Sacerdotalis caelibatus, in which he reaffirmed, without any exception, the mandatory celibacy for priests of the Latin Church. This forceful papal intervention also aroused lively criticism in various ecclesiastical environments, but in essence it has been assumed, from then until today, by all the Supreme Pontiffs who have succeeded each other.
To correctly situate the problem, it is necessary to carefully re-listen to what PO finally deliberated in 1965: “The perfect and perpetual continence for the kingdom of heaven, recommended by Christ the Lord throughout the centuries and also in our days, embraced with joy and observed in a commendable manner by not a few faithful, has always been considered by the Church as particularly suitable for the priestly life…”
Certainly, it is not demanded by nature itself of the priesthood, as is evident if one considers the practice of the early Church [1 Timothy, 3, 2-5; Titus 1,6] and the tradition of the Eastern Churches, in which, besides those who together with all the bishops choose with the help of grace celibacy, there are also excellent married presbyters: therefore our sacred Synod, while recommending ecclesiastical celibacy, does not, however, intend to change that different discipline which is legitimately in force in the Eastern Churches.”
Why does León, citing what the Vatican II deliberates on the life of priests, ignore this crucial and potentially disruptive passage for the status quo? An awkward silence, which raises many questions. And yet, it has gone “unnoticed” in Italy, both by the media linked to the Roman Church and by the “lay” press.
Luigi Sandri / L’Adige-Alto Adige
Religion Digital
Published in L’Adige
English version translated with AI