Book Reviews from NCR: The Reformation, and Martin Luther

Divided Christians, then and now

THE REFORMATION: A HISTORY By Diarmaid MacCulloch Viking, 792 pages, $34.95

The paradox and contradictions of Martin Luther

MARTIN LUTHER By Martin Marty Lipper/Viking, 199 pages, $19.95

Click here to read the reviews, by DARRELL TURNER

More on the Continuing Sex Abuse Crisis

"American hierarchy seals its fate" is the title of an article in the current National Catholic Reporter by A.W. Richard Sipe, a former priest who has served as a consultant or expert witness in more than 200 cases of clergy sexual abuse. Commenting of the recent bankruptcy filing of the Portland archdiocese, and threats of similar filings by other diocese's, Sipe says "The American hierarchy is in an unenviable bind. Their conundrum rests in the documents at question in almost every case under invesigation. Release of documents will show the corruption of the past. Continued concealment proves the corruption of the present administrations. Any way they move, the the sexual and perhaps financial corruption within the heart of the American Catholic church is on the brink of revelation." Click on the title link above to read the entire article.

The same issue of NCR has a letter to the editor which addresses the same question I had, namely, how can the Portland archdiocese claim that local churches belong to the parishes, while the Boston archdiocese can close over 60 parishes, against the will of the parishioners?

Parish ownership question

The archbishop of Boston, a “corporation sole,” is closing 20 percent of the parishes in the diocese without the assent of parishioners because all property is held by the archbishop. In Portland, Ore., the archbishop, also a “corporation sole,” declares bankruptcy and states, “Under canon law, parish assets belong to the parish. I have no authority to seize parish property.”

There obviously are substantially different views of one fact. Should I refer to the archbishops as cafeteria Catholics?

CHRIS O’BRIEN
Newton, Mass.

Also in that issue of NCR, a paragraph from Tom Roberts' Editors Note shows that the corruption appears to go all the way to the top:

One hesitates to keep getting caught up in the muck of the clergy sex abuse crisis for fear that it becomes the only perspective through which the church is viewed. That said, each month seems to bring some new chapter and yet another indication from church leaders of why it won’t go away. Most recently it is the scandal in Austria (see John Allen’s story on Page 11) and the comments of Bishop Kurt Krenn that what was photographed at his seminary amounted to nothing more than a “schoolboy prank.”

Closer to home, the Times Leader newspaper, which covers Scranton, Pa., quoted former Scranton Bishop James Timlin in a testy exchange with the lawyer of an alleged sex abuse victim. Referring to the guidelines for dealing with clergy sex abuse promulgated by the U.S. bishops in 2002, Timlin said under oath in a deposition last October, “I know there are some bishops in the country who refuse to have anything to do with it and they have permission from Rome to do this.” The full story can be found on the paper’s Web site.

The bankruptcy in Portland is symbolic of more than fiscal distress.

Finally, I ran across this interesting item on BeliefNet:
America's Worst Bishops - Which bishops have made the worst decisions about abusive priests?

Greetings from Augsburg College

Though I did not start this blog to keep you informed of my daily goings on, I can't resist the urge to post from Minneapolis, where Dennis and I are attending the Lutherans Concerned biennial assembly. I just left the opening worship service where I got a chance to meet Marty Haugen. His name may not be familiar to you, but his music certainly is. Marty has written so many of my favorite church songs, including All Are Welcome, We Remember, We Walk by Faith, and Gather Us In, which is the theme of this conference. I even got his autograph!

Since so few people are aware of this blog (yet:), that is), I'm probably just writing it to myself, but if you are one of they select few that I invited to preview it (or just stumbled across it somehow while "surfing the web", please let my know by posting a comment (you just click on the "Comment" link under this post).

Well, that it's for now. I'm looking forward to the rest of the conference, and will be returning to Lansing late on Monday night.

ps. I also ran across a big article on Joan Chittester in Wednesday's USA Today. I'll be posting that link later after I return.

Church might find wealth in poverty

By Steve Gushee, Special to The Palm Beach Post

Friday, July 16, 2004

Many authentic religious beliefs are paradoxical. They appear to be contradictory but are spiritually sound.

That could make the bankruptcy of the Archdiocese of Portland,
Ore., a good thing. It is the first Roman Catholic diocese to seek
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The diocese is out of money because
of mounting claims of sexual abuse victims.

The paradox is that a financially broken church might just become a
powerhouse of God's spirit. Bankruptcy could nudge it into authentic

Christian life and force it to rely not on the world's resources but on
what the church claims is the inexhaustible merit of its savior.

That would be closer to the faith of Jesus than anything the Christian community has tried in centuries.

Most thoughtful Christians would insist that the example of Jesus
and the teaching of St. Paul, though often paradoxical, were profoundly
true. Jesus bore witness with his life that weakness was strength,
possibly the most alarming paradox imaginable and the core of his
teaching.

The source of Jesus' authority was precisely his abdication of power. He
was the quintessential suffering servant. That made him, for the
faithful, the most powerful force in heaven and earth. A saint, here or
there, embraced the idea, but it never caught on with the church.

Paul elaborated on Jesus' example. He wrote that the foolishness of
the cross was the wisdom of God, that service was freedom and poverty
riches.

Christianity has rarely embraced any of that theology. Almost invariably, most Christian communities have trusted the ways of the world and, when
possible, accumulated wealth, power, possessions and political
influence, rather than take a chance on the apparent contradiction of
its Lord's example.

Just possibly, bankruptcy might be the redemptive gift God forces
on the church in the aftermath of the sexual abuse scandal. Certainly,
few would choose it.

I made a modest proposal for the Episcopal diocese I served some
years ago. I suggested that clergy and church delegates meeting in an
annual convention vote to sell everything the diocese and its churches
owned -- buildings, schools, hospitals and trust funds. Give 80 percent
of the proceeds to the poor and, with the remainder, start anew.

If the church did that every 50 years, it would never stop growing,
I suggested. The witness of service, sacrifice and, most powerfully,
trust in the Gospel would make it the envy of the world.

I was laughed out of the room.

steve_gushee@pbpost.com