The Faithful Departed: The Collapse of Boston's Catholic Culture

by Philip F. Lawler

The Faithful Departed traces the rise and fall of the Catholic Church as a cultural dynamo in Boston, showing how the Massachusetts experience set a pattern that has echoed throughout the United States as religious institutions have lost social influence in the face of rising secularization.The collapse of Catholicism in Boston became painfully apparent in 2002, with the full explosion of the sex-abuse crisis. But Lawler brings an insider’s knowledge and a journalist’s sense of drama to show that the sex-abuse scandal was neither the cause nor the beginning of Catholicism’s decline in Boston. In fact, the scandal was itself a symptom of corruption that was already well advanced.Full of colorful anecdote and gripping social history, The Faithful Departed will be of interest not only to Catholics and to those acquainted with Boston’s rich political tradition, but to anyone concerned about the interplay between religious faith and public policy. The demise of Catholic influence in Massachusetts is an especially vivid example of a secularizing trend that is visible throughout the United States.

Genres: History, Religion, Catholic, Church History

281 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 23, 2008

About the author

Phil Lawler is the editor of Catholic World News (CWN), the first English-language Catholic news service operating on the internet, which he founded in 1995. CWN provides daily headline news coverage for the Catholic Culture site, where Phil Lawler also offers regular analysis and commentary.

Born and raised in the Boston area, Phil attended Harvard College and did graduate work in political philosophy at the University of Chicago before entering a career in journalism. He has previously served as Director of Studies for the Heritage Foundation, as editor of Crisis magazine, and as editor of the international monthly magazine Catholic World Report.

His essays, book reviews, and editorial columns have appeared in over 100 newspapers around the United States and abroad. A pro-life activist and veteran of many political campaigns, Phil was himself a candidate for the US Senate in 2000, running against the late Sen. Ted Kennedy.

Reviews

[Michal Čop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kniha je o sexuálnom zneužívaní mladistvých v USA, najmä v Bostone, pričom autor ponúka provokatívnu tézu- sexuálne zneužívanie je len dôsledkom odklonu cirkvi od jej ideálov a učenia. A celé je to znázornené na príklade Bostonu, teda mesta, ktoré bolo pôvodne silne protikatolícke, neskôr sa z neho stala bašta katolicizmu a následne liberalizmu. Paradoxom celej situácie je, že počty katolíkov sú v meste stále pomerne vysoké.
Autor v knihe vysvetľuje, že problém sexuálneho zneužívania, ktorý odhalil portál Boston Globe a ktorý prepukol do celosvetového škandálu sexuálneho zneužívania má svoje korene v tom, že katolíci sa vzdali základných fundamentov svojej viery. Preto im viac ako na dobre detí záležalo na reputácii cirkvi. A preto jej predstavitelia kryli sexuálne škandály.
Lawler svoju tézu potvrdzuje cez dejiny bostonskej arcidiecézy. Zatiaľ čo v roku 1946 stačila jedna veta od arcibiskupa, aby štát zrušil plánovanú štátnu lotériu, v 60.-tých rokoch už arcibiskup tej istej diecézy ako prvý formuloval dnes už legendárny výrok o tom, že katolíci môžu oddeľovať to, čo si súkromne myslia od toho, čo politicky presadzujú. Keď to v prezidentskej kampani použil JFK, v podstate už len zopakoval to, čo ho naučil jeho biskup (áno, aj JFK je z Bostonu).
Kniha je plná priam šokujúcich informácii, ako napríklad, že lekár, ktorý vymyslel antikoncepčnú pilulku pochádzal z Bostonu a bol to katolík, ktorý denne chodil na omšu. Alebo, že sudca Brennan, ktorý je považovaný za jedného z najliberálnejších sudcov v histórii Najvyššieho súdu USA bol tiež katolík, ktorý tiež postavil politiku nad vieru. Alebo, že v senáte štátu Massachusetts, ktorý ako prvý štát v USA povolil manželstvá homosexuálov sedelo v čase, kedy bolo to uznesenie prijaté väčšina katolíkov. Žiaden z týchto katolíkov sa pritom nemusel báť hnevu svojho biskupa.
Lawler celý prípad ukazuje aj cez inú rovinu, a to cirkevnú, kde vysvetľuje, že rovnako ako na náuke cirkvi nezáležalo pri politikoch, nebola prekážkou ani v prípade liberálnych kňazov, ktorí presadzovali učenie v rozpore s katolíckou vierou.
Skrátka, učenie cirkvi už nebolo tým na čom záležalo. Väčší dôraz sa kládol na prestíž, moc, vplyv, alebo ako to chcete nazvať. Ak by záležalo na náuke cirkvi, ktorá vraví, že človeku, ktorý pohorší jedného z maličkých by bolo lepšie zavesiť na krk mlynský kameň a hodiť ho do mora, tak by biskupi nemohli nechať bez trestu tak hnusný hriech ako je zneužívanie maloletých. Ak však na nej nezáleží a väčší problém predstavuje prestíž, utrpenie, pohoršenie, či zatratenie duše nejakého dieťaťa, či jeho rodiny nie sú ten najdôležitejší problém, ktorý treba riešiť.
Lawlerova kniha ide ešte ďalej a kritizuje aj riešenie amerických biskupov, ktorí po prepuknutí škandálu odmietli uznať svoju chybu a pustili sa do hľadania akýchsi nových postupov ako predísť obťažovaniu. Pritom prostriedky na zastavenie zneužívania mali celý čas vo svojich rukách, len ich nepoužili.
Je to skutočne veľmi hodnotná kniha pre každého, kto sa chce dozvedieť viac o americkej cirkvi, spoločnosti, či politike, sexuálnom zneužívaní, ale aj meste Boston.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

AN ANALYSIS OF NOT JUST BOSTON, BUT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN AMERICA

Philip F. Lawler is Editor of Catholic World News, and a prominent Catholic Journalist. He wrote in the Introduction to this 2008 book, “In the mid-twentieth century Catholics had established their own distinct culture in Boston. That culture molded their attitudes toward social and political life, and since Catholics were a majority, their cultural influence thoroughly shaped the society in which they lived. Now somehow that Catholic culture has dissipated… The collapse of Catholic influence was most painfully evident in 2004, when Massachusetts became the only state in the Union to give homosexual partnerships the full legal status of marriages… How did the Catholic faith, which had built up its public influence so steadily during the twentieth century, lose all that influence within the span of a generation? That is the question this book seeks to answer.

“The most obvious answer is that the sex-abuse scandal that shook the Boston archdiocese in 2002 sapped the credibility of the Catholic hierarchy… the theory fails in two respects. First, the decline in Catholic clout was underway long before the first shocking stories of sexual abuse hit the headlines. Second, the sex-abuse crisis hit several other cities before it hit Boston… Still it is true that 2002 was a watershed year. During that year American Catholics shuddered over one ugly revelation after another… And as the tragedy unfolder that year, Boston occupied center stage.” (Pg. 4-6)

He continues, “Certainly there is nothing in the teaching or traditional discipline of the Catholic Church to justify such a lackadaisical response to clerical abuse… So the question persists: Why did Church leaders ignore the .. undeniable thrust of Catholic moral teaching… and codified in Church law?... The effort to keep ugly secrets from public view would make more sense if the Church saw herself as a purely human institution… Faithful Catholics should never allow superficial concerns about public perception to trump an unmistakably clear moral imperative…” (Pg. 10-11)

He adds, “My goal… is to help the reader understand the interests of the faithful from an orthodox Catholic perspective… The thesis of this book is that the sex-abuse scandal in American Catholicism was not only aggravated but actually CAUSED by the willingness of Church leaders to … build up the human institution even to the detriment of the divine mandate. I argue that in Boston, Catholic culture first lost its integrity… If my thesis is correct---if American Catholicism has been corrupted because Church leaders were pursuing the wrong goals---then it should not be surprising that the results have been most disastrous in the Boston archdiocese, where Church leaders had been most successful in pursuing those goals.” (Pg. 13-15)

He recounts, “Cardinal Cushing ]1895-1970] could not reconcile himself to the revolutionary changes that he himself had helped to set in motion… The Cushing era had begun at a time then even non-Catholic Americans recognized the cultural influence of the Church. It ended with even a prelate questioning whether the Church should have any influence at all on the public actions of the Catholic faithful.” (Pg. 52)

He suggests, “The successful hijacking of ‘the spirit of Vatican II’ was a two-step process. At the Council itself, liberal Catholics could not command majority support for their own preferred statements, but they could and did insert ambiguous phrases in the documents, which they could later cite as authority for their own novel ideas. Then when the Council ended, liberals called upon their own favorite witnesses---clerics who had participated in the Council discussions either as bishops or as experts and observers---to explain what the Council had REALLY intended: the spirit rather than the letter of the law.” (Pg. 69-70)

He observes, “After Vatican II, in parishes troubled by dwindling attendance and flickering faith, priests had more power but less authority. They could design their own liturgies and preach their own theological theories, but why where they doing it? If they did not represent the authority of a universal faith, what was the purpose of their work? Thousands of Catholic priests felt that they had been cast adrift… These unhappy priests had enormous freedom of action, but very little sense of purpose. They were dangerous men.” (Pg. 75-76)

He notes, “Within hours after the public appearance of ‘Humanae Vitae, American Catholic theologians had organized a public statement of opposition to the Pope’s stand. Open public dissent flourished… Dissent from Humanae Vitae in particular was soon ubiquitous… If theologians could freely dissent from Humanae Vitae, they could dissent from other Church teachings as well. And lay Catholics could follow their own consciences regarding the use of birth control, they could make their own decisions on other moral issues---disregarding Church moral teachings when they saw fit. The teaching office of the bishops … was now almost completely removed from the realm of practical affairs…” (Pg. 79)

He summarizes, “The first early revelations of the sex-abuse scandal were only just beginning to emerge; the full-blown crisis in Boston would not occur for seven more years. But by 1995, the era of Catholic political dominance in Boston was over. Five years before the millennium, the Catholic century had ended.” (Pg. 121)

He asserts, “After nearly forty years of practice, American Church leader have [grown] accustomed to dodging painful issues, using carefully contrived statements, selective amnesia… and outright dishonesty to avoid direct clashes. No doubt the bishops believed that they were justified … in order to prevent more widespread battles among their parishioners… But notice that the tactic of obfuscation failed to achieve those goals. The liturgical battles DID continue, the media DID claim that Catholic bishops were acting as inquisitors. And… the habits of denial and obfuscation… ultimately brought disgrace upon the Church.” (Pg. 134)

He explains, “A bit more than six months passed between the resignation of Cardinal Law and the naming of his successor… In the interim the Boston archdiocese, along with every other diocese in the country, began the implementation of the Dallas Charter. A genuine reform of the Catholic Church in American might have begun in Dallas with a frank admission of the corruption that had allowed the sex-abuse scandal to fester. Instead… the bishops had sought to deflect attention from their own appalling failures…. The arrogance of the USCCI in presuming to instruct students about sexual abuse was breathtaking… Now the same church leaders who had betrayed that trust presumed to instruct the parents and their innocent children about the dangers that children might face… these programs were designed… [for] making them more effective witnesses if and when they were molested.” (Pg. 191, 193)

He says, “The Archdiocese of Boston is facing a real financial crisis… But by any economic measurement, the Church in Boston today had far more material resources then the Church of one century earlier… The problem, again, is not economic but pastoral and spiritual… Today… Church leaders seem to be satisfied if they can cling to their dignity while conducting what is, in effect, a going-out-of-business sale.” (Pg. 201-202)

He argues, “the uncertainties of Catholic life after Vatican II eroded the old standards of clerical discipline… Within a few years the old norms of proper priestly conduct were gone, and no clear new standards established in their place… But curiously enough, the priests most frequently accused of abuse were ordained in the 1960s. Many of these accused molesters were ordained to the priesthood before Vatican II began… One hypothesis is that … they lacked the inner strength to discipline themselves. They were no longer surrounded by Catholics who held them to higher standards of moral conduct.” (Pg. 232)

He concludes, “The fractured unity of Catholic communities after Vatican II sapped the public strength of the Church at just the moment when that strength was sorely needed… For the Catholic Church in Boston today, there is no earthly hope. In parish after parish the congregations are smaller ever year… The congregations, too, are aging… The entire, massive structure of Catholicism totters along on borrowed time… That whole structure will come crashing down, perhaps within the next generation, unless there is some dramatic change… Fortunately, the situation is not new. The Catholic Church has never had any earthly hope… the task of loyal Catholics … is not to bemoan the fate of the Church or to cherish fond memories of bygone days, but to prepare a new offensive. Our goal is… to transform our entire society through the power of the Gospel… The purpose of this book is… to take one small step on the road to Catholic renewal.” (Pg. 249-255)

This book will be “must reading” for those concerned with the modern Catholic Church in America.

[Christopher Potter · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meandering and undisciplined. The author wanders through social and religious developments of the past century, both national and local, with no qualms about indulging in complaints about how much these developments have pissed him off personally as an archconservative, but he never comes close to convincing a disinterested skeptic that these developments are actually what decreased the role of Catholicism in the lives of so many. The flimsiest assumption that he makes is that Boston-specific matters, which he covers in detail, had much to do with driving significant numbers of people away from active participation in Catholic faith, when that trend has been national and indeed international.

[Maya Lavinier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing read! I have already read this book and will continue to read it to reiterate several points. The author has his biases, to be sure, and clearly doesn't think highly of Vatican II or the Spirit of it, but it is clear that his survey of american catholicism using boston as a case study is masterful and impactful.

[Greynomad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lets see if it isn't the church, its politicians, military, corporate that are all in the same boat for
covering their ass.
It is amazing what people will go through to make sure its not their fault. Its the old boy system from the git go...........

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This very depressing book is does not spent a lot of time on the child abuse scandals that rocked the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston in 2002, and the subsequent resignation of Cardinal Bernard Law. There are far better accounts of how the Catholic Church in the United States betrayed the trust of its most vulnerable members in such a shocking fashion. "The Faithful Departed" instead situates those scandals in a larger context, that of the rise and fall of Boston's Catholic culture in the twentieth century. In the 1930s, the churches of Boston were packed full with devout Catholics and the Cardinal of Boston could derail legislation unacceptable to Catholic morals with a single public statement; not seventy years later, his successor would be the most hated man in the city, and parish after parish would be shuttered and sold off, the dwindling congregations literally unable to keep the lights on.

Philip Lawler is an orthodox Catholic believer and who worked for the Archdiocese in the eighties and nineties (his account of how he lost faith in Cardinal Law's ability to manage the scandal, not to mention his own admiration for the Cardinal, is gripping). He believes that the worldly success of the Church in Boston, driven by the massive Irish immigration in the nineteenth century, led first to wealth, then to political and social power, and finally to corruption. Just like the Pharisees in the New Testament, the Archdiocese became more interested in preserving its worldly power and pull in the Legislature than saving souls and being faithful shepherds of Christ's flock. Lawler reiterates that the Church that most of the world sees (the buildings, offices, bureaucracy, etc) is not the real Church, the mystical Bride of Christ. This distinction was lost on the episcopal bureaucracy, whose instinct when confronted with scandal was, "How will this look on the front page of the Boston Globe?", rather than, "What is God's will in this situation?" As with many other corrupt organizations, the Archdiocese sought to protect its own executives rather than take radical action to root out the evil in its midst. In the end, the scandal was far worse than it could have been.

Lawler ends the book with a call to action. He notes that the first scandal - that of molesters in the priesthood - has been largely dealt with. Unfortunately, as Lawler notes, there is a larger scandal that remains unaddressed - the complete moral failure of the US Catholic bishops to protect their flocks. As of the date of writing (2009), Cardinal Law remains the only US Catholic bishop to have stepped down due to his involvement in protecting molesters (and even he remains a Cardinal, and still lives in Rome). The bishops appear remain more interested in regaining worldly influence than renewing the Church. Until they clean house, the Catholic Church will continue to wander in the desert.

A word to the wise. Lawler is a faithful Catholic, and if you are not, you are probably not going to like certain of his speculations about the role of homosexuality and homosexual priests in the scandal. You may wish to simply agree that the Diocese did a very poor job of discerning whether individual seminarians were appropriate men to place in a celibate priesthood, and leave it at that.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll begin this review with the poem "Ozmandius" by Shelley:

I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert... Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal these words appear:
My name is Ozymandius, King of Kings,
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains.
Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Like the fabled Ozmandius, the Catholic Church in America is in ruins. What once was a vibrant,growing, powerful, and important institution in this country is now a pale shadow of what it was. There are many reasons for this, but the author of this book--using Boston as an example--places the blame squarely on American bishops, liberal Catholics, and a distinct lack of courage on the part of the Church's hierarchy with regard to the teachings of the Church. I found much of what Mr. Lawler wrote to be uncomfortable, because I believe much of his argument is spot on. When I think of how Catholicism was lived and practiced during my grandparents' generation, then compare it to what my generation is experiencing today...it is heart-breaking.

My maternal grandmother used to tell me stories of Jesuit Father Leonard Feeney, and how he was suppressed by the Church for preaching on Boston Common. Even now, almost 70 years later, it still makes her angry that this priest was silenced (the author does a good job telling Feeney's story, as well as using it as an example of a bed-wetting 'can't we all just get along?' Catholic hierarchy.) Likewise, the infamous Cardinal Mederios is not spared in the discussion of the Boston busing crisis. But it is Cardinal Bernard Law who the author saves the most scorn for, and rightfully so. There is a sobering, measured account of the abuse crisis in Boston, as well as in the rest of the country, and Mr. Lawler's diagnosis of what has come to ail the Church with regard to child abuse, is very convincing. I found some of what he wrote difficult to read because it made me uncomfortable to consider his conclusions. Very disturbing stuff.

This book is well written, filled with facts, historically accurate, and deeply disturbing. Fortunately the author ends on a high note by reminding the reader that when the Church began 2,000 years ago, it was 12 illiterate, penniless fisherman who spread the word. Chances are the Roman Catholic Church will survive post-modernism, the indifference of my grandparents' descendents, and the and the Op-ed page of the New York Times. Let's hope that he's right.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

You don't need to be a conservative Catholic to appreciate the reasoned arguments presented in this book. I am what this author would consider an "ethnic" Catholic - I was raised in the faith but do not experience it, believe in it or practice it in any way. Yet, it is part of my dna and my worldview - how could it not after 16 years of Catholic education.

What I most appreciated about this book was the placement of the sex-abuse scandal into the wider cultural history of the Church post Vatican II. I was raised in the time of the derided "felt banners" and worship with guitars. Whether it is the right way or wrong way to worship God I do not know - but it feels like home to me - and every time in past years that I have sought to "go home," I have been disappointed. That Church that I knew, is gone. I feel like a stranger in my own community.

I can walk into just about any church today and not see a single statue. I can walk into a church today and see a cross, but the figure of Christ is not on it. I can walk into a church today and there are 5 people there and no one is singing and it is an agony to get through the mass. I can walk into my church today and the altar is in the center of the church, like a theatre in the round. I am surprised it does not rotate around. There is no altar rail, no altar to speak of, and I honestly think I am in a Protestant church. I didn't ask for any of these changes, and it is one change too many for me. Add to that the complete destruction and corruption of the hierarchy, to know that my hard earned dollars were put to use as hush money and pay offs to hide criminals of the worst kind, and you have what is clearly a very sad situation for the Church.

In ceding the moral ground, the Church lost its soul and reason for its existence. And now it is slowly disappearing and if it stays on its current trajectory, it will be mostly gone from the American scene in a generation or two. That is a very swift decline.

I don't know what to say about the author's belief about a homosexual culture in the seminaries as I know nothing about that. If it is true, it is not that these places have a homosexual culture that is disturbing, but that they are sexualized at all that is shocking to me. This is the place candidates for the priesthood who willingly entered into this life must be helped to become celibate souls - I am not going to debate whether that is a worthy goal or not - the fact is - this is the price the Church demands of its priests. Seems like the Church is falling apart on more than one front.

Glad I read this, learned a great deal and have a few new ways of viewing Church history of the past 60 years.

[Rod · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for those who wish to examine the cultural trajectory of of the past 50 years. The book addresses the child abuse scandals in the Catholic Church. Popularly, these scandals have been described as pedophiles preying on young people in the Church. This is only a partial truth As the author points out, there were actually three scandals:

1. The homosexual abuse of young people by priests. This received the most attention by the press (understandably) and has often resulted in major damage awards against the Church.
2. The second scandal is the prevalence of homosexual culture in seminaries. Conservative candidates (who believed in traditional Catholic dogma) were in many cases dismissed from seminary because of these views. Homosexual candidates were on the other hand, encouraged.
3. The refusal of the American bishops to take responsibility for the abuses. It was common practice to relocate abusive priests to other parishes (with any special notification of issues) to avoid public scandal. Stonewalling was common practice to prevent discovery of documented abuse cases.



The question is why. Lawler has a good answer, I believe. Once it was decided that the public perception of the Catholic Church was more important than the spiritual like of its congregants, the moral compass was lost. There is one heartbreaking story about a devout Catholic woman whose seven nephews had been molested by a priest. Her respectful solicitations for action where ignored time and again. She eventually left the Church.

While #1 crimes were heinous, it is important to note that only a relatively small fraction of priests were guilty. For #2 and #3, however, a majority of the bishops were culpable of attempting to coverup the crimes.