Papal Sin : Structures of Deceit

Rating:
Summary: Strong language indicts church leadership
Review: Garry Wills writes about the structure of deceit that the popes have used, especially in the 20th century, to promote the teachings of the Catholic Church. Starting with the Holocaust, Wills discusses the involvement of the popes either in speaking out against the persecution of the Jews or their silence. He notes the canonization of Edith Stein and Maximilian Kolbe as disingenuous examples. In Stein's case Wills claims the Church was interested only because she converted to Catholicism. With Kolbe, one has to consider his long time involvement in a Marian society that published anti-semitic propaganda in Poland.

Wills discusses celibacy and women as priests. He demonstrates how the arguments supporting or opposing these positions have changed, with much emphasis on the manipulation and deliberate misreading of scripture.

Each chapter of this book takes contemporary issues, some of which go back in time, and he shows how the Vatican promotes its causes without regard to historical, scientific and even theological truth.

Wills does not hold back his criticism as he is not afraid to used the word "deceit" many times through the book. Yet he makes a very strong case for his position. Perhaps theologians with a mandatum could not be as honest as a Catholic lau journalist who has no hierarchical position to lose. And that is both a pity and an indictment against those who govern the Catholic Church.

Rating:
Summary: The "Church" is not a man, it is the sum of it's members.
Review: Mr. Wills is not desirous of destroying the Church, he has written a meticulously detailed argument which if listened to would lead to a healthier growing Catholic Church, rather than one which is very often subject to the rule of one man's feelings, and an institutional mindset that refuses to admit error.

Some of the issues he addresses are, The Holocaust, the step by step revisions of Vatican II Decisions, "Humanae Vitae" of Paul VI and the wreckage caused by it and Paul IX's "Syllabus Of Errors." the shrinking Body of the Church, the role or lack thereof of women in the church, Gay Priests, abuse by Church Members by Clergy, celibacy, contraception and the inability of Priests to marry. This is a 312-page work; it contains over 170 specific references to the Bible, and dozens more from the writings of St. Augustine, St. Paul, St. Peter, Newman, Jerome, Consentius, Tertullian, and many others.

If a person accepts the decisions of The Pope without a thought that same person is confirming exactly what Mr. Will is saying. Further, by following the decisions of The Pope you are willingly accepting, "economies of truth", historical falsehoods, deception, and at times lies, and arbitrary and capricious decisions by men who overrule the same councils they convene, when that council refuses to endorse that which the Pope wants. Not what the Bible teaches, not what Christ taught, what a single man wants.

Is not the number of Seminarians an indicator of the health of the Church's Structure? In 1965 there were 50,000 seminarians, by 1997 there were 5,000, by 1999 the number was 2,500. Forget the book, what does that tell you as a reasoning individual? The average age of a Priest in the US is 58, 25% are over the age of 70? What does that indicate to you?

In 1983 the Bishops began debating the role of women in the Church. With Pope John Paul II now at the Vatican, his suggestion for women was they should use the Virgin Mary as their "pattern of humility". For the first time ever The Conference of Bishops voted down their own work, which had been so damaged by the Pope, its contents so retrograde, it was compared with the Humanae Vitae. This pattern of conduct by a Pope is not something that needs to be mined from millennia ago. It is true that those Popes make for excellent reading, as they are examples of some of the greatest displays of hypocrisy and debauchery ever documented. These same Historical Time Periods also lead to much of the nonsense that is killing the Church today.

Does the Bible say that Priests may not marry, NO. Does the Bible say that women may not be Priests, NO. Does the Bible say that Priests must be celibate, NO. The answer is no, no, no it does not. The written gymnastics that have been attempted to justify these positions are unbelievable. The majority of today's Priests (80%) do not believe in the stance on contraception. Judging by the smaller size of Families, including those who attend the Catholic Church, neither do they. If they are maintaining the small numbers of children through the "Rhythm Method" they should buy lottery tickets, they are the luckiest people alive!

There are 188 dioceses in the US. EVERY ONE has had a least one case of pedophilia. This does not include relationships amongst adults. Despite the policy of silence and deceit about these events by September 1994 60 Priests or Brothers were in Prison. Not all offenders were so treated; the church sent a notorious case of Father Peebles to Tulane University where they paid his tuition of $22,000 per year with an additional $800 per month for himself. He studied to become a lawyer.

The Pope has lead the Church through mistakes in the past, remember Galileo? The body of the Church who the Pope serves has become more informed every day. They no longer accept "rules" based on nothing but personal opinions of a variety of Popes. They are not willing to conduct themselves in a manner that is reckless or irresponsible, i.e. contraception. What is even more threatening to the Church is that Priests will no longer teach that which they do not believe. So the seminaries empty, Churches have no resident Pastor, and in the years to come you will be driving some distance to hear a Priest in person.

Mr. Wills has written a scholarly, meticulously documented work. Sit with a Bible, read every reference he makes. Then sit back and think for yourself, Christ never taught that we should be automatons. If the Popes stay their course and continue to run over the Bishops and the Church (the human members) it is being told that the following is what they must worship under.

"The Pope alone we are now asked to accept is competent to tell Christian people how to live. No one else can have any say in the matter- not a Council, not the college of all Bishops, not the national synod of Bishops, not the Christian people. The Holy Spirit now speaks to only one person on Earth, the omni competent head of the Church, a church that is all head and no limbs. If that were so, then the body of Christ would be shamefully reduced."

Rating:
Summary: against ignorantia affectata
Review: Garry Wills' introduction to Roman Catholic systematized self-deceiving traditions, *Papal Sin,* is a tour-de-force for awakening the consciences of cradle-Catholics who have taken for granted the moral authority of the popes and their teachings. By examining one at a time the encyclicals and councils of the popes, and setting them against history and theology (including that written by such Roman Catholics as St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, John Cardinal Newman, and Lord "power corrupts" Acton--and, oh yes, the holy scriptures), Wills challenges his readers to examine their own beliefs, to abandon what Thomas Aquinas called "cultivated ignorance," ignorantia affectata, "an ignorance so useful that one protects it, keeps it from the light, in order to continue using it" (Wills 9). Wills argues that the intellectual honesty called for by modern science, academic inquiry, and general education (modern here meaning primarily since the Age of Reason into the current era) is not well served by faithful Catholics accepting handed-down doctrines unquestioningly.
Wills focuses on issues as seemingly diverse as contraception and abortion, the canonization and use of saints, gay priests, masturbation, the idolatry of Mary and the concurrent rejection of the power and authority of the Holy Spirit, and papal infallibility. He makes a strong case that the popes have increasingly supported its decisions with bad logic, bad theology, bad exegesis, and bad faith with its faithful-as-Church, rather than challenging the authority of the papacy-as-Church.
My faith has been cracked open by Wills arguments. I intend to do considerable further study and prayer to decide whether I can continue in an institution that has shown such disregard for the truth it is sworn to protect.

Rating:
Summary: Honesty in the Catholic Church
Review: Gary Wills is professor of history at Northwestern University and also a practicing, notably liberal Roman Catholic. "PAPAL SIN" is a popular book which draws selectively on scholarship both solid and speculative, biblical, historical and theological, using up to date sources. It dashes angrily across too many topics: contraception, abortion, a celibate priesthood, the role of Catholics in the Holocaust, freedom of expression and on and on.

Professor Wills complains that the Roman Catholic church has become needlessly over centralized and administered top down. This makes the church too prone to the book's subtitle, "structures of deceit." These structures predispose clerical leaders to mislead rather than admit that the church has been seriously wrong at any time on any issue.

Wills does, nonetheless, identify individuals who stood out against boneheaded errors by top officials and who were later judged correct by the consensus of the faithful. The list of heroic deeds begins with Paul publicly rebuking Peter in Antioch for backsliding on what Jewish practices pagan converts to Christianity must practice (Galatians 2: 11-14). St Augustine of Hippo took on St Jerome of Jerusalem over this very passage. In 1870 Lord Acton, John Henry Newman and many bishops were appalled by Pope Pius IX's deceptive and dishonest tactics promoting papal infallibility .

Garry Wills argues that the entire Church must follow Jesus who is Truth and be led by a Holy Spirit breathing the New Testament Greek grace of parrhesia: etymologically "pan-rhesia" or "speak all," i.e., "holding nothing back." For spiritual sins are vastly worse than bodily: lying more soul-killing than fornication.

In moral situations the church should stop teaching with false precision when solutions are not apparent, notably in key areas of sexuality. Wills offers the following principle from Epistle 190 of St Augustine:

"When a thing obscure in itself defeats our capacity, and nothing in Scripture comes to our aid, it is not safe for humans to presume they can pronounce on it."

Both Augustine and Newman fought for a church in which God speaks to everyone: clergy and laity alike. Our knowledge is always provisional, in unceasing outreach for ultimate truth.

Rating:
Summary: Some good points, some nonsense
Review: I am a conservative Roman Catholic. However, rather than dismissing this book out of hand, I decided to read it. I do agree with Professor Jenkins' assesment of it. It is an example of anti-Catholicism by Catholics.

Wills is certainly in favour of the ordination of women. However, I do believe that Wills is fully open to the ecumenical ramifications. For instance, the Orthodox Churches do not ordain women, and their likelihood of so doing is slim to none. In addition, large numbers of Anglicans are unhappy with the ordination of women. The existence of the Continuing Churches (Anglican Church in America, Anglican Catholic Church, etc.) bears this out, as does the presence of Anglican Use parishes in communion with Rome, and those Anglicans who've found a home in Orthdoxy. In addition, the Church of England has bishops who minister to those faithful who reject the ordination of women.

His writing on Marian devotion is likewise unbalanced. He does not take into account the sophiology of St. Louis de Montfort and the role that the Holy Spirit plays in Marian devotion. Marian devotion should lead us to the triune God. Marian devotion should not lead us away.

His writing on priestly celibacy is likewise flawed. He would seem to jettison anything of the church's traditional disciplinary norms that seems too hard or demands too much. Our society has lost the ability for sacrifice. It is precisely the witness of the celibate committment that is needed today.

Gary Wills is an intelligent man and a gifted writer. However, one wonders whether he can or should in good conscience call himself a Catholic.

Rating:
Summary: Very good read for an open mind...
Review: I am Catholic and I picked this book up because I am truely alarmed with the path the magisterium has taken in the recent past. A lot of what the Catholic Church teaches, it demands its people to follow without question. However, in the modern age it simply isn't good enough to say "Do this because I say so". Especially when some of the teachings, such as issues like celibacy, contraception, papal infallibility, and women in the priesthood that this book brings up, defy not only common sense but also gospel teachings.

Contrary to what some Catholics may say, it is normal and healthy to question and criticize institutions, especially one as important as the Catholic Church. Without this, an institution will not continually grow and mature, only stagnate. This book actually strengthened my faith with the Catholic Church because many of the questions and misgivings I had about the church were addressed here with loads of historical evidence. It showed me that I am not the only one that has problems with some of the official teachings, and there are plausible, historic, and theological reasons that others have these same problems. I think the most important message this book has is that no one individual is infallible, the Gospels teach that only the Church as a whole is infallible.

Now, off my high horse and down to some book criticisms. Wills presents many topics throughout this book, and I think he does a good job interrelating each. However, this can create a tough read for someone that is not passionate about the material. Also, Wills does take some liberties with some of his arguments. Some may not agree with some of the conclusions he draws in this way, so keep a careful eye out for where the evidence ends and his opinions start. Lastly, I didn't really like the chapter on abortion. It seemed muddled and like he didn't want to take a stand one way or the other on the issue. By doing this, he really doesn't make a very important contribution to the argument, making this passage inconsequential.

Very good book. I would recommend it to anyone that has an open mind about their faith.

Rating:
Summary: Biased and unfair
Review: The book is a simple bash the catholic church book by someone who disagree's with the church's teachings on a variety of issues . It points out sins of bad popes and it simply makes some other stuff up . It doesn't give a fair look at all the pope's in history especially the present one . If you already hate the catholic church and it's teachings this is for you , however if you want only the facts and not biased propoganda then don't waste your time or money .

Rating:
Summary: An honest look at a religious institution.
Review: I picked up this book expecting (and, quite frankly, hoping for) a list of all the popes since Peter and the gossipy details of the awful things they'd done.

I wasn't at all disappointed to find something entirely different, and more interesting. I have studied the Catholic Church and other religious institutions a moderate amount, with an eye towards their importance in the social lives of those who claim membership. Faith and spiritual guidance are an essential part of so many peoples' lives, and spirital institutions have high expectations to meet. They have to represent that which millions of people _worship_.

*Papal Sin* is the perfect book for ordinary people who are willing to take an honest look at church power. Gary Wills doesn't use this opportunity to bash the church, and to me it doesn't matter one bit whether he is Catholic. He is simply reaching back into history - to actual documentation of certain dishonesties supported and/or propagated by certain occupants of Vatican City - and writing engagingly about what concerns him.

Serious scholars might want to look to the primary sources. I recommend this book to readers who have blossoming but confused feelings and opinions about church policies about abortion, contraception, homosexuality and other prevalent social issues.

You should feel free to read this book without guilt or embarrassment. Gary Wills' articulation of his arguments may be helpful to those of you hoping to flesh out your own ideas. Even if you disagree with him, you will have formed an honest and somewhat educated opinion.

Rating:
Summary: Another point of view
Review: Jenkin's recently-published book "The New Anti-Catholicism: the last acceptable prejudice" discusses the startling phenomenon of self-professed "Catholics" who, while rejecting the basic elements of the Catholic Faith as it has been understood for many centuries and giving vent to the sorts of anti-Catholic diatribe one associates with protestant fundamentalists of the most hair-raising variety, manage to avoid charges of bigotry because, after all, they are "loyal sons and daughters of the Church!" Jenkins offers some useful criticisms of Wills' pronouncements and those of other dissenters who, while seemingly tailor made for membership in the Episcopal Church in America (or some other mainline protestant organization), perversely cling to an ersatz "Catholic" identity.

Rating:
Summary: Provocative but Excellent
Review: I won't waste space here to repeat what the critics and admirers have stated here about Wills' book. Bottom line is that it is a thoughtful, mature and indeed spiritual book that takes a fresh look at the Roman Catholic Church. While sometimes a bit too arcane for me, I am nonetheless familiar with the wide spectrum of views of loyal Roman Catholic theologians on matters of faith and morals, and Wills brings home that reality. This might be a surprise to some who think Catholicism is monolithic in its thinking.