March 16, 2010 - An extraordinary constellation of events has put the Catholic Church in the media's cross-hairs, and the distillation of their attacks reveals a perfidious double standard that has to be recognized and understood. The challenge will not go away, for it is based on the values at the very foundation of our post-modern society. How it resolves itself in its current iteration remains to be seen.

In recent weeks, the dormant issue of sex abuse within the Catholic clergy has awakened with a fury. Contributing to its revival was the conclusion of the Irish inquiry, the unearthing of improprieties in several countries throughout Europe, and sordid escapades with ties to the Vatican's own choir. The piece de resistance, though, presented itself when the dubious career of Marcial Maciel turned a corner, moving beyond the wretched charges of paederasty and womanizing into the unspeakable mire of incest. Onlookers are rightfully appalled.

The feeding frenzy now exists because the questions about Germany and the Legion both involve papal judgment itself--or so we're led to believe. Reporters are in a lather to know exactly what Archbishop Ratzinger knew about the shuffling of renegade priests in his diocese, just as they have always wanted to probe the exact relationship between various popes and Maciel. Onlookers have assumed that when John Paul II embraced Maciel and proclaimed him "an efficacious guide to youth" that he deliberately turned a blind eye to his philandering in exchange for the money, vocations and prestige offered by the congregation.

That will be the fodder for pundits and peasants for months and years to come. Each of us has an opinion, but that is not the point of this piece. The point is that there is another pressing issue that not only adds fuel to the fire but may help to explain why these stories are swirling and boiling over just now. Health care has been the centerpiece of the President Obama's legislative efforts for over a year now. Despite grave misgivings in the populace about what it contains (certainly, the exact parameters are a mystery) and why it's being pushed through in such a bullying fashion, Catholics recognize that authentic social teachings and respect for human life are in grave danger of being marginalized from the discussion--if not embargoed completely.

Here we come to the supreme irony which cannot be emphasized enough. Few will disagree that there are many things that the Catholic Church has done extremely well--even as they have no interest in the theology that guides her. The Church was the first to build hospitals and universities; she was a tireless promoter of education, workers' rights and care for the marginalized. Schools were built around the world to teach those who would have never otherwise had a chance to learn, and clinics, vocational training and soup kitchens are synonymous with Catholic action.

And now the world at large is calling them out--demanding accountability. No matter what the Church as a whole can say on its own behalf, nothing can justify these good actions if in the back rooms of those same institutions there was any sort of abuse, coercion or injustice. What good is the best grade school if it hides paederasty in its cloak rooms or allows vulgar actions after hours? And this excellent question has a right to be raised.

So let's turn it around. For all the great good of a hospital--for all the successful surgeries, for all the anxious mothers hoping for safe deliveries, for all the indigent sick who find the attention they so desperately need--what good is it if in the back rooms some babies are destroyed, or palliative care is denied to those considered not worthy of the expense? Aren't the benefits to the larger community compelling enough that we can turn a blind eye to those things that some find ethically problematic?

This seems to be the logic of those who look strictly at the great social need from a mundane level. And yet they are often the very same voices who howl so shrilly at the hierarchy for what they think to be neglect on behalf of the children on whom molesters preyed. In their myopic view, the sexual abuse behind closed doors deserves justice while the assault on the dignity of human life behind closed doors is the price of doing business in the health care industry. They insist that heads must roll on both questions--but in the former it should be those who didn't act to protect the innocent, and in the latter, those who do.

What seems to be a contradiction on the most obvious level is simply the nefarious way that evil lurches through society, heaving about heavily in what seem to be random patterns. But we cannot be fooled. Every lunge is a strategic blow against life and the truth that defends it. If any in the hierarchy have been remiss in their responsibility, may the innocent prevail in their suit, but if those who are called to protect the innocent in the quest for "health care" lay down their arms, we will all be diminished.



Genevieve Kineke is associate editor of Catholic Exchange and blogs at feminine-genius.typepad.com

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