Saturday, September 20, 2008

The Faithful Departed

I'm reading Philip Lawler's book , The Faithful Departed and so far, I see why it was banned from the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception bookstore in DC (they have Medjugorje books though) and why my beloved Catholic Information Center in DC isn't carrying it, (Opus Dei avoids any book that seems gets too political). Lawler argues that the rot in Boston started a long time ago and made the homosexual child molestation scandal possible. He's gone all the way back to 1919, when the cardinal at the time had to be told by Benedict XV, to get rid of his nephew and a priest who had a wife and home in another state. This same cardinal prized professional priests over holy priests. Sound familiar? Later, they got Cardinal Cushing who seemed to be a jolly fellow but who was way too interested in trying to integrate Boston Catholics into the mainstream life of Protestant America.

It's a fascinating read so far. Painful, becuase this isn't just Boston's problem. To a certain extent the rot is everywhere.