Confronting an Unprecedented Church Scandal—Phil Lawler, by Thomas V. Mirus

By Thomas V. Mirus, Catholic Culture, May 13, 2021

Thomas V. Mirus is a pianist living in New York City. He is Director of Podcasts for CatholicCulture.org, hosts The Catholic Culture Podcast, and co-hosts Criteria: The Catholic Film Podcast. See full bio.

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Observing both Church history and the events of our lifetime, we can no longer be surprised at the existence of corrupt and abusive priests and bishops. Priestly sexual abuse, for example, was a problem the Church had to fight during the Middle Ages.

The scandal of 2020 and beyond, however, finds no equal precedent in Church history. That bishops throughout the world would choose, of their own volition and without even the excuse of persecution, to deny participation in Mass to the laity for long periods of time, is still as shocking to contemplate today as it is nightmarish to witness. …