“…Can the Holy Spirit really be calling the Church to abandon structures of ecclesial governance whose evolution over time the Holy Spirit presumably inspired? How can the Holy Spirit teach us one thing about the ethics of human love and the nature of marriage for two millennia, and then “surprise” us by calling the Church to jettison that teaching in the twenty-first century? Can the Holy Spirit contradict the Holy Spirit?

“…for all the pain, embarrassment, and disruption the abuse crisis caused in the United States, the proclamation of the Gospel continued in America, and the crisis prompted serious reforms, not least in seminaries. Was that impossible in Germany? Or did some German Catholics use the media assault on institutional Catholicism’s coverup of gross wickedness to weaponize the abuse crisis, making it the rationale for creating a New Model Church that would be more “acceptable” to post-modern society and culture?”… Continue