Haberstock 1

Isabella Haberstock

Mr. Clark

Honors English 12

9 March 2018

On Corruption in the Catholic Church

A) Wanted: Reform

The Catholic Church needs reform because of its many cases of molestation and financial

mismanagement, which are made worse by numerous cover-ups. The Catholic Church has a

history of corruption dating back hundreds of years; even though times have changed, the Church’s

problems continue to surface. In the 1500s, the Catholic Church relied on questionable methods to

attract followers and protect its high status (“The Roman Catholic Church in 1500”). The Catholic

Church today does not have as wide of an influence on the world, and many of its practices have

changed. The ability to grow and change is very important, especially for an organization that has

existed for as long as the Catholic Church. However, recent cases have proved that while the

Church may have moved away from selling indulgences, its reputation is not spotless.

In 2002, a case of “pedophile priests” was uncovered in Boston (Martin). This was the first

time that a report of this nature surfaced, and it revealed that “since the mid-1990s, more than 130

people have come forward… about how former priest John Geoghan allegedly fondled or raped

them during a three-decade spree through Greater Boston parishes” (Rezendes). If that was not

horrifying enough, the article also revealed that many other priests and cardinals were aware of

this and chose to let this man remain a priest until 1998 after countless rape accusations

(Rezendes). In the years that followed the exposure of this scandal, many victims of church abuse
 Haberstock 2

have come forward to share their stories in the hopes of making a change within the Catholic

Church.

One of these victims is a former priest named Bob Hoatson, who was abused as a teenager

when he entered a religious order and stayed silent about this for fifty years. When asked about

the Church’s progress, Hoatson said that “The Catholic Church has been corrupted to its core…

[and] there is so much yet to be revealed” (Martin). Reform is needed to prevent rapists from

joining the clergy and staying in the clergy, and it is necessary for the bystanders of these cases to

take action instead of covering up the whole situation.

Another instance of church scandal is in the area of finance. In the past few years, there

have been many allegations that high-status Vatican officials were using church funds to renovate

their own living spaces. Members of the Vatican committee have even been arrested for leaking

the information that forms the basis of these allegations (“Vatican hit by new claims of financial

mismanagement and lavish spending”). Many transactions have also gone undocumented, which

was proven by a case in Germany. One instance of embezzlement by a German priest led to dozens

of charges from all over the country (Loll). There is a lot of ambiguity surrounding the Church’s

funds, and “the only aspect of church finances that is public is the diocesan budget, which derives

its funding from the church tax” (Loll). The Catholic Church needs financial reform because it has

not been clear about its budget, and, as a result, large sums of money have been embezzled and

mismanaged.

B) Where Does the Church Stand?

The Church does recognize its history of corruption and is actively trying to improve under

Pope Francis. The Pope himself admitted, “’There is corruption in the Vatican’” (McElwee), and

he said that the work of the Church needs to improve. Pope Francis has already enacted reforms
 Haberstock 3

of his own to deal with the mishandling of money and said that “cleaning up church finances is a

top priority” (“Vatican hit by new claims of financial mismanagement and lavish spending”). The

abuse of funds is not a new problem, and Pope Francis has recognized this and is committed to

making a change.

The Vatican also accepts the charges of sexual assault and rape by priests and is enacting

reforms to prevent these occurrences. Pope Francis’s main point in this discussion was aimed

towards religious, and he said to be more careful about who is accepted into the priesthood. He

stated that anyone who was rejected from another seminary should not be accepted into religious

life without being questioned first (McElwee). The Church has also constructed child protection

laws and provided resources to victims (Rezac). Representatives from the Vatican admitted that

their reforms and actions are not always the most effective or right method (McElwee), but they

at least recognize their past faults and are working to improve the Church’s reputation.

C) Suggestions for Improvement

The Church could improve its situation by providing support to victims of sexual abuse,

identifying perpetrators within the Church, and being open about past mistakes regarding these

issues. Part of the reason why the Church is under intense fire is because of its many attempts to

keep its wrongdoings a secret, and Church representatives need to be honest going forward.

The Church does not provide many resources for victims of abuse, and the resources that

do exist are mainly for the protection of children. While the child protection resources are a huge

step forward, any adults who have been abused by priests are not as supported (Rezac).

Experiencing this type of trauma is especially detrimental to a person because priests are supposed

to represent God and the Church, and “these events can cause [victims] to question their belief in

God as a loving father” (Rezac). Both physical and spiritual healing is needed to feel safe again,
 Haberstock 4

and the Catholic Church needs to have more resources to provide victims with this support. Sue

Stubbs, the director of the Victim Assistance Office of the Diocese of Atlanta, had to open her

department to any victim of assault and rape, regardless of age (Rezac). Other dioceses across the

United States have followed suit, but the whole Church needs to advance these resources and make

them available worldwide. According to Sue Stubbs, “Every person has worth and dignity, it’s our

responsibility to uphold that dignity” (Rezac). It is necessary that the Catholic Church assists

victims of rape no matter the person’s age, gender, or country of residence. The Church can

accomplish this by ensuring that every parish promotes awareness of sexual assault and rape and

has services for the victims. The Church can also improve itself to prevent these situations from

happening. Members of the Church need to give up being a bystander and come forward when a

priest abuses his position so cases like the Boston scandal do not occur again. The Boston scandal

was published after thirty years of allegations, and many people knew about it and did not report

it (Rezendes). Each Church should also ensure that a priest is never alone with a child or adult

because a representative of the Church cannot be in a position to take advantage of a person at any

time. As for finances, the Church needs to be more public about where its money goes so

everything can be better documented. Clergy should not be able to elude his authorities and

embezzle money, and keeping up-to-date records of funds can solve this problem and make it

easier to identify where money is going.

The Church can improve its situation overall by acknowledging its mistakes instead of

orchestrating numerous cover-ups that are inevitably unearthed by the media. If these suggestions

were actually put in place in the Catholic Church, there would be significantly less mystery and

scandal within the Church. Being open and willing to change for the better would make the Church

more approachable and enticing to the world. In addition to this, the discussion surrounding the
 Haberstock 5

prevalence of rape in our society would be an issue that is examined and dealt with publicly.

Victims of church abuse would have a variety of resources to access, and there would be less

shame surrounding these traumatic events.

D) Obstacles and Allies

These suggestions could be opposed by people within the Church who have very

conservative beliefs. When Pope Francis first became pope, he established himself as an outsider

in the Church, and it is expected that he would face some opposition. Despite his humility and

relaxed demeanor, “within the church, Francis has provoked a ferocious backlash from

conservatives who fear that this spirit will divide the church” (Brown). His thoughts on acceptance

of divorced and remarried people was his most controversial opinion among Church officials.

Because of this, many cardinals and priests are resistant to nearly everything Pope Francis says

(Brown). The Pope has already made it clear that change is necessary within the Church

(McElwee), and the more traditional members of the Church will completely disagree (Brown).

Some cardinals have even tried to accuse Pope Francis of heresy, which is “a sin punishable by

excommunication” (Brown). Even though it is odd that so much opposition is coming from inside

the Church rather than from the rest of the world, this group is persistent and will combat any of

Pope Francis’s reforms.

These suggestions could be supported by victims of church abuse and people

who recognize the problems in the Church. Victims will defend these suggestions because

it will give them much-needed support that has not been readily provided in the past (Rezac).

They will not be shamed into silence, and the Church could be the safe place that it is

supposed to be. Other advocates for positive change within the Church are anyone who

understands that reform is needed to solve corruption. There are ways to make changes that do not
 Haberstock 6

interfere with Church teaching; tradition should not be kept purely because it is tradition, especially

if it prevents the Church from being an effective force in the world.

 Haberstock 7

Works Cited

Brown, Andrew. “The war against Pope Francis.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media

Limited, 27 October 2017. Web. 26 February 2018.

Loll, Anna Catherin and Peter Wensierski. “The Hidden Wealth of the Catholic Church.” Spiegel

Online. Spiegel Online, 14 June 2010. Web. 27 February 2018.

Martin, Michel. “Catholic Church Corrupt to its Core, Says Survivor.” National Public Radio.

Npr, 13 January 2013. Web. 25 February 2018.

McElwee, Joshua. “Pope admits corruption at the Vatican in wide-ranging talk to men religious.”

National Catholic Reporter. The National Catholic Reporter Publishing Company, 9

February 2017. Web. 25 February 2018.

Rezac, Mary. “How the Church can help victims of sexual assault.” Catholic News Agency.

CNA, 5 November 2017. Web. 26 February 2018.

Rezendes, Michael. “Church allows abuse by priests for years.” The Boston Globe. Boston Globe

Media, 6 January 2002. Web. 3 March 2018.

“The Roman Catholic Church in 1500.” The History Learning Site. The History Learning Site,

17 March 2015. Web. 1 March 2018.

“Vatican hit by new claims of financial mismanagement and lavish spending.” The Guardian.

Guardian News and Media Limited. Web. 25 February 2018.