Francis Effect: A Church in Crisis... Ralph Martin... There is a culture of “cover-up,” of silence, of complacency, and quite frankly, of cowardice, that has deeply informed many of our priests and is operating ...
Ralph Martin · 2020 · Religion
There is a culture of “cover-up,” of silence, of complacency, and quite frankly, of cowardice, that has deeply informed many of our priests and is operating ...
Les Femmes - The Truth (Mary Ann Kreitzer)
Ralph Martin shares a troubling story in his book, A Church in Crisis. He was teaching a course on the stages of spiritual growth for thirty priests from all over the country when the situation of the sex abuse scandal came up:
When I suggested that the code of silence needed to be broken... the priests surprised me. “You can’t possibly understand as a layman what fear we live in.”....they told me that they were afraid of what their superiors could do to them if they spoke up....I told them I thought they needed an infusion of simple human courage and a good dose of fear of the Lord so they would fear God more than man....There is a culture of “cover-up,” of silence, of complacency, and quite frankly, of cowardice, that has deeply informed many of our priests and is operating strongly in forming future priests. There is an “infantilism” that has been bred in grown men, who are unable to relate...in a healthy way to authority. There is a tremendous fear of conflict.... People need to become accustomed to speaking the truth in love to one another and to those they serve and those they serve under.
The only way to address the faith-wrecking magisterium that has crawled out of the shadows to destroy the Church is with a bold charity that proclaims the truth. Will we be attacked and ridiculed? Of course. We need to pray for the spirit of the early martyrs. The choice will be the same as the apostles faced – to run away or to stand with Mary at the foot of the cross. Pray the rosary and seek the assistance of the angels that you may stand firm and hold your ground! And don’t forget to affirm your priests when they have the courage to speak the truth boldly and with charity! [https://lesfemmes-thetruth.blogspot.com/2023/01/the-shadow-magisterium-goes-mainstream_024996962.html]
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