The Scandal and Tragedy of the Roman Catholic Church

The Scandal and Tragedy of the Roman Catholic Church
If you’ve been keeping up with the news, chances are you’ve been hearing about the new sex abuse scandal rocking the Vatican. On April 4th, “the Times” reported that the late Pope John Paul II ignored the abuse of 2,000 boys by a friend of his, the Austrian Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer, without any sanction from the Vatican.(1) It has come out that the former Cardinal William Levada of Portland, Oregon, reassigned a pedophile priest, albeit after the priest underwent therapy, without informing parishioners, and in Italy, the Catholic Church is also undergoing a mounting scandal.(2)

Plus, in light of the sex scandals in Ireland and in the U.S., there are the allegations against the current pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI. Accusations have arisen that the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict), as head of the “Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,” before becoming pope in 2005, swept many cases of sex abuse in Germany and in other countries, under the rug.


But, what’s the most troubling is the Vatican’s response to the issue. On Palm Sunday, amdist calls of some for the pope to resign, it seems that he made, apparently, at the very least, reference to accusations, saying that God helps lead people: "towards the courage of not allowing oneself to be intimidated by the petty gossip of dominant opinion.” (3)

The following week, on Easter Sunday, we read this: "’Holy Father, on your side are the people of God,’ Cardinal Angelo Sodano told the pontiff, whom victims of clergy sexual abuse accuse of helping to shape and perpetuate a climate of cover-up. Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, dismissed those claims as ‘petty gossip.’…Dressed in gold robes and shielded from a cool drizzle by a canopy, Benedict looked weary during much of the Mass, the highlight of a heavy Holy Week schedule. But as he listened intently to Sodano's paean, a smile broke across the pope's face, and when the cardinal finished speaking, Benedict rose from his chair in front of the altar to embrace him….Sodano's praise for Benedict as well as the church's 400,000 priests worldwide cranked up a vigorous campaign by the Holy See to counter what it calls a ‘vile’ smear operation orchestrated by anti-Vatican media aimed at weakening the papacy.”(4) There was also a case in which Vatican priest Raniero Cantalamessa likened the backlash against the Vatican and the pope in particular, to anti-Semitism, angering many Jewish groups.(5)

Now, some of you may be wondering why I’m doing a post on this issue. But, I see this actually as the indication of a spiritual problem in the Roman Catholic Church, and I also see this physical corruption as the sign of long-existing spiritual corruption.

As a result of the Protestant Reformation, the Catholic Church convened the Council of Trent (1545-1563), and by its pronouncement, it disconnected itself from Biblical Christianity, and made it clear that it is no longer a Christian organization, but a false religion. (Although, I do believe that there are professing Catholics, who by the grace of God have come to trust in Christ alone for their Salvations, and therefore are born-again Christians)

Let’s take a look at a few examples: “CANON IX.-If any one saith, that by faith alone the impious is justified; in such wise as to mean, that nothing else is required to co-operate in order to the obtaining the grace of Justification, and that it is not in any way necessary, that he be prepared and disposed by the movement of his own will; let him be anathema. CANON XII.-If any one saith, that justifying faith is nothing else but confidence in the divine mercy which remits sins for Christ's sake; or, that this confidence alone is that whereby we are justified; let him be anathema. CANON XIII.-If any one saith, that it is necessary for every one, for the obtaining the remission of sins, that he believe for certain, and without any wavering arising from his own infirmity and disposition, that his sins are forgiven him; let him be anathema. CANON XV.-If any one saith, that a man, who is born again and justified, is bound of faith to believe that he is assuredly in the number of the predestinate; let him be anathema. CANON XXX.-If any one saith, that, after the grace of Justification has been received, to every penitent sinner the guilt is remitted, and the debt of eternal punishment is blotted out in such wise that there remains not any debt of temporal punishment to be discharged either in this world, or in the next in Purgatory, before the entrance to the kingdom of heaven can be opened (to him);let him be anathema.” (6)

In short, the Roman Catholic Church, at the Council of Trent, pronounced anathemas on the Gospel itself!!! For, in Scripture, we read, it is: “by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) Now, are works necessary, ABSOLUTELY!!! But, they are a sign of regeneration. As James says: "But someone will say, 'You have faith and I have works.' Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works."(James 2:18)

Furthermore, at the First Vatican Council (1869-1870), the Catholic Church confession read in part: “I embrace and accept the whole and every part of what was defined and declared by the holy Council of Trent concerning original sin and justification…. I firmly hold that purgatory exists, and that the souls detained there are helped by the suffrages of the faithful. Likewise, that the saints reigning with Christ are to be honored and prayed to, and that they offer prayers to God on our behalf, and that their relics should be venerated…I resolutely assert that images of 1. Christ and 2. the ever Virgin Mother of God, and likewise those of 3. the other saints, are to be kept and retained, and that due honor and reverence is to be shown them….. Then there is the definition of the Council of Florence: ‘The Roman Pontiff is the true vicar of Christ, the head of the whole Church and the father and teacher of all Christians; and to him was committed in blessed Peter, by our lord Jesus Christ, the full power of tending, ruling and governing the whole Church.’”(7)

Because of the fact that the Catholic Church teaches a false gospel, it’s no surprise that these sexual abuse scandals are going on, as well as the Catholic Church responding this way. Why? Because, in teaching a false system, they’ve cut themselves off from the regenerating work of Christ. I’m going to concede that there are no perfect churches, and the church is a congregation of sinners saved by grace. But, when people are saved, despite the fact that they don’t become sinless, they are made new creatures (2nd Corinthians 5:17).

Furthermore, according to Scripture, we are to expel those who are in immorality until they repent!!! Paul writes: “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.” (1st Corinthians 5:9-11)

But, the most damning indictment of the Vatican is found in Paul’s letter to the Galatian Church: “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:6-9)

So, this begs the question of how we should respond. First off, we should reach out with the Truth of the Gospel, as well as compassion towards Catholics, or at the very least, pray that God uses these series of scandals, as well as inevitable disillusionment from some to bring many people out of the Roman Catholic Church and into true Christianity.

In fact, according to one news story: “As the faithful filled churches this Holy Week, many Roman Catholics around the world are finding their relationship to the church tested by new revelations of clerical abuse and suggestions Benedict himself may have helped cover up cases in Germany and the U.S. There are fears that for those whose commitment is already wavering, the scandal could be the final blow, and a growing chorus is clamoring for the church to embrace full transparency, take a hard line against pedophiles, and reconsider the rule of priestly celibacy….’People are outraged really, they're furious with the complete failure of the church's leadership and their view would be that we are led by incompetent people,’ [Paul] Collins said.” (8)

This may just be me, but part of me can't help shaking the notion that possibly, God's allowing this to happen to the Catholic Church as a means to draw people to Himself.

Endnotes:
1.)http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article7086738.ece

2.)http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100406/wl_afp/italyreligionchildabuse_20100406170242

3.)http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20100328/twl-pope-leads-palm-sunday-amid-calls-to-3fd0ae9.html

4.)http://www.dailyworld.com/article/20100405/NEWS01/4050312/1002/news01

5.)http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/03/world/europe/03church.html

6.)http://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/ct06.html

7.)http://www.ewtn.com/library/COUNCILS/V1.htm#4

8.)http://www.dailyworld.com/article/201004020235/NEWS01/4020326