A view from the pew... (Amanda McKenna)

Retired Sydney Auxiliary Bishop Geoffrey Robinson has just released his book "Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church: Reclaiming the Spirit of Jesus" — a book that has caused shock waves to reverberate not only throughout the Church in Australia, but around the world.

As +Robinson says in his introduction to the book: "Sexual abuse of minors by a significant number of priests and religious, together with the attempts by many church authorities to conceal the abuse, constitute one of the ugliest stories ever to emerge from the Catholic Church. It is hard to imagine a more total contradiction of everything Jesus Christ stood for, and it would be difficult to overestimate the pervasive and lasting harm it has done to the Church."

Introduction by Bishop Geoffrey on YouTube

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 In the Catholic Herald (12 June 2009) Quentin de la Bedoyere writes a very thought provoking article.

"Do you think that the abuses which have taken place in Ireland (and elsewhere) would have occurred in a communicating Church? Do you think that the widespread sexual abuse by clergy of nuns (mainly but not exclusively in the Third World) would have occurred in a communicating Church? Do you think that the rejection of the Faith by so many of our children and grandchildren, and the dramatic fall in adult membership, Catholic marriages and vocations would have taken place in a communicating Church?"

Read his article and comment

 Pope Benedict XVI spoke to a congress in Rome on 26 May 2009, saying:

“There are too many baptized faithful who do not feel a part of the ecclesial community and live distanced from her, visiting the parishes only in certain circumstances to participate in religious services.There are even less lay persons, in proportion to the number of inhabitants assigned to each parish who, although they profess the Catholic faith, are willing to work in various apostolic fields…

First and foremost, there is a need to renew our efforts to offer a formation that is more attentive and conformed to the perspectives of the Church, on the part of priests, religious, and laity. We need to understand more what this Church is, this People of God in the Body of Christ.

It is also necessary that the pastoral style is improved in such a manner that, in regards to vocations and the role of the consecrated and laity, there is a gradual promotion of the co-responsibility of all the members of the People of God. This demands a change of mentality especially in regards to the laity, moving from only considering them “collaborators” of the clergy to acknowledging them as truly “co-responsible” for the being and action of the Church, promoting the formation of a mature and committed laity…These communities should not lack the awareness that they are “Church” because Christ, the Eternal Word of the Father, calls them together and makes them His People.”

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"When is the last time Cardinal Re of the Vatican, or any Vatican official, or indeed, any bishop, excommunicated a Mafioso responsible for deliberate murders?" asks Professor Leonard Swidler STL PhD LLD, ARCC President.

But Archbishop José Cardoso Sobrinho of Brazil did excommunicate the mother who permitted an abortion to save the life of her nine-year old daughter who was rape-impregnated by her stepfather!  

And this excommunication was defended by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, head of the Roman Catholic Church's Congregation for Bishops, as he told La Stampa, an Italian daily newspaper.

According to the report, the abortion was undertaken to save the life of the nine-year old mother. Why was Archbishop Sobrinho not at the side of the little raped child and her agonizing mother spiritually helping them - instead of publicly condemning them?

Perhaps the archbishop and the Vatican wonder why so many tens of millions of intelligent, sensitive Catholics are fleeing the Church? Here is another stunning reason!