As if the Catholic Church didn’t have enough problems with the confusion emanating from the Vatican and Pope Frances – as well as the worldwide priest/sex/homosexual scandals – it now faces a drastic loss of parishioner confidence and donations.
The core of that aspect of Church problems is reflected in the results of the recent Gallup poll. It shows the fallout from the scandals is reflected in a record low of 31 percent of support by Catholics for the honesty and ethical standards of the clergy.
In fact, the poll shows a full 18 percent drop between 2017 and 2018. Gallup has been measuring these ethical standards since 1977, and their figures show a continuous decline since 2012.
Catholics are not only losing confidence in the clergy, they’re also leaving the Church. They aren’t “losing their faith,” but they are removing themselves from parish participation and activities, and many are stopping their donations to Catholic causes and charities.
Those decisions hurt – the Church, domestic parishes, and of course, individual Catholics and their families.
While many of the scandals involve large groups of priests and their illicit activities, there are also situations on local levels that leave people perplexed and, in many cases, furious.
A case in point is St. Isidore Parish in Danville, California. Danville is a small-to-midsized rural city in the San Francisco area of Northern California.
In 2006, it gained a new pastor, the Reverend Gerald Moran. Prior to that, he had been at a parish in Fremont, California.
All went well until 2011, when Rev. Moran saw some abnormalities in the parish bookkeeping system. After a long and detailed investigation, it was revealed that three staff members had stolen some $580,000 of parish money. They were legally charged.
While that investigation was public, it certainly left some feelings of concern in parishioners; so it was disconcerting to many when it was revealed that Rev. Moran was placed on administrative leave on Sept. 21, 2018 and would not be allowed to reside in the rectory.
The reason? He had allowed a man who had been removed from priestly ministry to celebrate Mass at St. Isidore, work with children’s groups, and conduct counseling.
The man in question is Patrick Foley, a priest who was one of eight priests on a list revealed in September of 2018 by the Diocese of San Diego as being subject to credible accusations of sexual misconduct with children.
In addition, the Sacramento Police have a report on file of an accusation of sexual misconduct against Foley in 2010 by two Sacramento boys who were under 18.
Key in all of this is the fact that all clergy who will be working with children have to have on file a “letter of suitability,” confirming their good moral character and their fitness to work with children. These are required by the national protocols of the Catholic Church for protecting minors.
Despite his record, Foley got such letters from the San Diego Diocese until 2015, when the diocese stopped those recommendations.
The question remains: Why did St. Isidore Parish not require such a letter for Foley? Why did the Diocese of Oakland and Bishop Michael Barber allow his activities in the diocese – at St. Isidore, at the San Damiano Franciscan Retreat and other venues – without such a letter? Did no one check, or did no one care? Who knows?
BIshop Barber said he knew nothing of the situation and has ordered an investigation of how this violation could have taken place. It was on the basis of this that the Rev. Moran was placed on leave on Sept 21 – all well and good, but the public still has never been told how this could have taken place and why Foley had no letter on file.
Then in mid-December, Bishop Barber wrote a letter to parishioners and spoke at Masses at the Church, announcing that Moran will be returning to the parish and his regular duties.
After only three months?
Barber said the safety of children is paramount, it is mandatory to follow the national charter, and those requirements will be audited regularly. He said such checks will be done at all parishes in the diocese.
That’s nice, but what he did not say is where Foley is, why he has not been properly reprimanded, why he remains a priest and why he was allowed to get away with such blatant disregard of church rules. Foley bills himself as an “itinerant pastor” for hire and has his own web site.
In explaining his decision, Bishop Barber told St. Isidore parishioners “that I was giving Father Moran another chance, and I asked them to do so as well. But I also insist, and will verify, that the Charter for the Protection of Young People is followed for every parish in our diocese.”
So let me get this straight. The bishop, who is in charge of the Oakland diocese involving every Catholic Church there, allowed Foley to operate freely and openly against church rules. Then he suspended one priest who also allowed it, but only put him on leave for less than three months, then told parishioners the priest would get “another chance.”
Aw, how sweet … but why?
I live in that diocese, but not in that parish. I, for one, am infuriated that Bishop Barber would be so generous with the breaking of such important regulations. He says “the safety of children is paramount” – hah. If it were, he would have clamped down on Foley and gotten him out of the priesthood so he would not be able too pull his scams on other believing Catholics.
As for Father Moran? He should be forced into retirement and kept away from the Church and the Sacraments he so blatantly betrayed.
No wonder so many Catholics don’t respect the ethics of the priesthood. There’s no end to it!
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