Sees abuse crisis rending Church
John Allen noted that two views seem to be emerging in response to the clergy sexual abuse crisis.
"There is a sense in which the present crisis is pulling us farther apart, and that's on the level of diagnosis," he said. "I see a liberal wing that insists the sex abuse crisis is rooted in policies such as mandatory celibacy, the ban on women priests and the general Catholic attitude toward sexuality and the body, not to mention the `dysfunction' of clerical culture.
"The right, meanwhile, insists that the problem is doctrinal confusion and moral relativism, above all the tolerance of a homosexual subculture in the priesthood.
"I'm convinced both analyses are, at best, incomplete, and in some ways simply mistaken. But I worry that the clash between these two competing explanations will have both pundits and `pew Catholics' pulling the Church apart rather than bringing it together. There has never been a moment in the life of the American Church when the need for patient, supportive dialogue was greater." (KB)