Traditionalist Catholic Responses to the Abuse Scandal: The Case of Pell

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/calling-cardinal-pells-prosecution-what-it-is-religious-persecution

I found this article both refreshing and audacious at the same time. In our current climate of accusation and Neo-McCarthyism few have been bold enough to stand against the tide and resist the trend of presumed guilt and the abandonment of due process.

But when it comes to the crimes of Rome and its sodomite priesthood I believe that not only are most of the accusations true, we've only seen the tip of the iceberg...

Nevertheless, this story reveals that even the process of convicting Roman Catholic clergy has its deficiencies and raises questions. These crimes are particularly vexing because there's often little evidence other than the testimony of the victim and the legacy of destroyed lives and tormented souls.

There are additional problems concerning the nature of Church-State relations and the notion that the Church turns to the state for justice and to right its wrongs.

These are crimes and yet I continue to be uncomfortable with the idea of state intervention in Church affairs. I suppose for many this symbiotic relationship is probably ideal and many have embraced (without reflection) the idea that the state can regulate finances, polity and internal policies requiring 'clearances' and the like. There are so many issues and different angles to these questions which are further clouded by ecclesiastical models and practices that already represent departures from the Scriptural model.

Many Church leaders and not just within the institution of Roman Catholicism have betrayed their flocks and have been exposed as derelict and corrupt. They should be taken down and removed and yet I don't think the Church should ever look to the state when it comes to these questions.

Rome's crimes are no surprise. A false Church, it is patently filled with unregenerate people who according to Biblical parameters are still children of wrath and disobedience in the grip of Satan. And though you wouldn't know it when listening to today's Evangelicals, Rome's crimes are on an almost unfathomable scale. They are guilty of destroying realms, societies and souls.

And yet this is also true when it comes to the vast ranks of Protestantism. In some cases we have overtly false Churches and of course we have other bodies that are ostensibly and relatively sound in doctrine and yet nevertheless have been corrupted by aberrant and corrosive theology and practice. In other words we are surrounded by False Christianity and dangerous error and yet very few leaders are steering a clear course, delineating false from true and helping the Church to understand its place in the world. The crisis is yet another manifestation of the error resulting from cultural accommodation and the quest to appropriate the world's power and find peace with its institutions and cultures. This programme has flooded the Church with unbelievers and evil men.

I found it strange that the article decided to invoke the memory of Ted Stevens. While his indictment was vacated his corruption was patent and known to all. His power had afforded him opportunities to mask his crimes and if Stevens is the best the author can come up with as an example of prosecutorial misconduct, then there's not much to say.

That said, a very strong case can be made regarding prosecutorial misconduct in general and there are large numbers of innocent people sitting in prison.

Taking the article prima facie, the arguments in defense of Pell are compelling but of course there's another side to the story and the arguments are further compounded by narratives within Roman Catholicism between the mainstream and the Traditionalists. Each has their own angle on the abuse crisis, its sources and its course.

Is Pell being persecuted? Is he suffering Christian persecution? I can see their point but I'm not moved by the argument. Rome has so tarnished its reputation that virtually no credibility exists. There is no trust and no integrity. If Pell is innocent then the misconduct of the prosecutors must be condemned. And yet, the real culpability that the National Catholic Register seems unwilling to acknowledge lies with the Roman Catholic hierarchy and its Magisterium.

What a mess. What a disaster. It's a Pandora's Box of a chaos and misery for all involved. But they've brought it on themselves and while some prosecutors are corrupt and self-serving, aspiring bureaucrats seeking a feather in their cap... others are moved with genuine moral indignation in response to the crimes of Rome. And I'm certain they're zeal is stoked by a real desire to take down monsters and there are many robed monsters among us. And thus while Pell's case may leave some questions, I think to characterise it as persecution is misleading...

But par for the course when it comes to members of the Roman Catholic hierarchy who regularly and systematically traffic in deceit.