“Freindly Fire Zone”

Part Two

If the Church had fought for true school choice, many schools would be thriving

What does it tell you when private Notre Dame Academy in Villanova has 101 students in its freshman class --- at $20,000 per year --- and Archbishop Prendergast in Drexel Hill, an Archdiocesan high school, has…82?  Yes --- eighty two.

That the economy is booming because folks can shell out 20K a pop? That the gap between rich and poor is widening, with more people in the “have” category?  Not quite.

It tells us, in no uncertain terms, two things:

1) Over the last several decades, too many leaders in the Catholic Church have strayed from their Godly mission, trying to be all things to all people, destroying the Catholic identity, and, worst of all, covering-up the child sex scandal and protecting pedophile priests (See January 11 column).  The result has been, and continues to be, apathy for most, anger for many, and an exodus from the Church for thousands of others.  The Church has reaped what it has sown, and nowhere is that more evident that the 30 percent decrease in Catholic school enrollment in Archdiocesan schools.

2) The Catholic Church, for all its money, muscle and might, has been a political paper tiger in fighting for its beliefs, most notably school choice. For the last 15 years, it either didn’t do its job to ensure passage of legislation that would provide a voucher to parents (their own tax money) to send their children to the school of their choice, or it backed meaningless and ineffective bills.  Either way, if the Church had done its job effectively without cowering at the sight of its own shadow, only a handful of the 49 schools that closed recently and the scores --- that everyone seems to be forgetting --- that have been shuttered over the last decade, would be out of business.  In fact, most would be thriving.

The Prendie situation tells it all.  While officially having “open enrollment” where physical or Church boundaries are not criteria for admission, Prendie still traditionally draws from Catholic “feeder schools,” as does its brother school, Monsignor Bonner (119 in its freshman class).  Do the math. If we conservatively estimate that there are 22 elementary schools serving those high schools, that’s fewer than 4 girls per school going to Prendie, and just 6 attending Bonner.  No wonder they closed!

(Though a strong case can be made to consolidate the two schools, many believe the Archdiocese will not do so because a nearby hospital may be eyeing the land. With potentially millions more in abuse settlements, the Church may need the proceeds of that sale to pay those large amounts --- just as the Boston Archdiocese sold 99 acres of prime real estate to Boston College to pay settlements.  Closing schools to pay sex scandal settlements just infuriates Catholics that much more, leading to a vicious circle of yanking students from Catholic schools altogether).

And why are the elementary schools not sending more students?  Two reasons.  Many parents are choosing public schools because they don’t feel the value of Catholic high school is justified by a $6,000 price tag.  And of course, there aren’t many students left in Catholic elementary schools in the first place.  Take Annunciation BVM in Irish Catholic Havertown. It is slated to close, allegedly because there aren’t enough students in attendance (though they hit the attendance number the Diocese mandated and are one of a handful of schools with a parish surplus). But a drive through the town will instinctively tell you what any demographic statistician already knows: the Catholic population is more than healthy enough to see Annunciation at 80 percent capacity --- or even more.

The proof? In 1911, there were 68,000 students in Archdiocesan schools, out of 525,000 Catholics (in a diocese, by the way, that was considerably larger in size than the one today).  A century later, we are back at the same level of 68,000 (down from a peak of 250,000 in the 1960’s), yet the smaller-sized Archdiocese now has almost 1.5 million Catholics. Those numbers clearly show that, for most areas (inner city Philadelphia being an exception), the Catholic population is absolutely large enough to support most of the schools that closed.

Taking out of the equation those parents who are angry or disenfranchised with the Church (and its schools), there still remains a substantial number of families that would love nothing better than to enroll their children, but simply cannot afford to do so.

Unfortunately, those people get walloped with a triple wammy. They slog through life paying some of the highest tax rates in the entire world, funding wholly ineffective governments at all levels while getting relatively little value in return. They live in one of the few countries in the Western world that does not assist parents with nonpublic school education.  And they are scared to death about receiving a pink slip in an economy that is tanking further by the day, with many banking what they earn rather than paying for the desired education for their children.

Enter school choice in Pennsylvania. Or lack thereof.

In 1995, a statewide, comprehensive school choice bill failed by a single vote. And while the Church played an active role in that fight, it refused to do the things necessary that would have pushed the legislation across the finish line. Priests should have been preaching from the pulpit, educating parishioners on the merits of school choice and rallying the troops to contact their legislators (which can clearly be done without jeopardizing their nonprofit status). But overall, they didn’t.

They could have placed pro-school choice cards addressed to representatives and senators in each pew, to be filled out during Mass and collected before exiting church. But they didn’t.

And they could have tied all of it together by playing hardball with wishy-washy politicians, informing them in no uncertain terms that school choice would be the one and only issue that many Catholics would be voting on --- and Catholics vote --- in the next election.  But they didn’t.

Instead, too many left the battle to the “insiders,” and guess what? Choice failed, and schools closed.  A lot of them, most of which would be open today had school choice passed.
 
Fast forward to 2011. What did the Church do?  Support the weakest, most meaningless education reform bill that would have neither helped educate nor reform anything (Senate Bill 1).  It was so restrictive that it would not have affected one middle class family, but the final version (which bombed) seemed to cater only to those Capricorns in the inner city who promised to wear plaid pants on Tuesdays.

The Catholic Conference’s rationale for supporting such a bad bill? Incrementalism was the only way to go, and, after all, that was the only bill out there. Talk about a losing mentality. Maybe if the Catholic leaders in their ivory towers had the foresight to see what was coming down the pike with school closings, they would have made a broad-based bill a reality and went full-bore to accomplish passage. And since the 1995 bill was run with a somewhat hostile legislature and still almost passed, it should have been a no-brainer to aggressively push for a bill this time that would also help the middle class, since the Governor and legislature were infinitely more amenable to such a bill.

But they didn’t.

And they didn’t even push for an expansion of the educational improvement tax credit (EITC) after school choice failed, which, while not a panacea, would certainly help.

Senate Bill 1, even had it passed, would not have saved one Catholic school. But that was simply an alien concept to the Church’s political braintrust, and the results speak for themselves.

As a result, all people suffer the financial consequences. Of the over 24,000 students displaced, a significant number will now attend public school.  And since it costs over $15,000 per student, per year to educate a public school student, property taxes are about to go through the roof, which could not come at a worse time.  Not only will more textbooks and buses have to be purchased, but more teachers, more modular classrooms, and, quite soon, more capital projects to accommodate the influx of Catholic school students.

Some claim that school choice is a bailout of the Catholic schools.  Wrong. Since the money is directed to the parent, not the school, it clearly isn’t.  But it will be interesting to see the reaction from critics of school choice (and Catholicism in general) when they can no longer afford to pay their property taxes. As the saying goes, what goes around comes around.

Where do we go from here?

There is a passage from a book written in the 1987 book, God’s Children, that best sums up why Catholic education must be saved:

“The Catholic Church must forget its inferiority complex. No other religion is reluctant to ask for what it wants. If we don’t ask, if we don’t stand up and fight for what we believe in, we can’t expect to win. Life is a street fight. We can roll up our sleeves and jump in, not certain whether we’ll win or lose, or walk away, allowing a huge part of our heritage to disappear….

If we fail, what do we tell the ghosts? The nuns and priests who for two centuries devoted their lives to the cause? The men and women, like our parents, who broke their backs to support their families yet somehow found a way to support our schools? Do we tell them that it’s over, that their legacy has disappeared forever? That we couldn’t hold on to what they gave us?”

And most haunting:

“I don’t want to tell my children and grandchildren that I was around when time ran out on Catholic education.”

Is it that time?  Put it this way.  Anyone who believes that the closings are done is simply deluding himself, for shutting down schools is a band-aid solution to a gaping wound that will continue to hemorrage.
 
That is, unless the Archdiocese of Philadelphia somehow finds a leader with the courage of his convictions, someone willing to “roll up his sleeves” and fight for what is right.

Archbishop Chaput, your 15 minutes are upon you, and the floor is yours. Godspeed!

Chris Freind is an independent columnist, television/radio commentator, and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com  His self-syndicated model has earned him the largest cumulative media voice in Pennsylvania. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Vatican II Destroyed Catholic Identity And The Essence Of Being Catholic

The message from Headquarters was sent to field agents worldwide:

“This is your mission --- if you choose to accept it:  Take one of the most powerful institutions in the history of mankind and change it so radically --- in all the wrong ways --- that in the span of fifty years, it will be a shell of its former self, relegated to a backwater shaped only by the sad ghosts of the past.”

Was this a Mission Impossible communiqué sent at the height of the Cold War to implode the Soviet Union? Certainly could have been. And the goal would have been a worthy one, fighting an evil adversary hell-bent on human domination.

Interestingly --- tragically, actually --- that message could also apply perfectly to another mammoth entity --- the Roman Catholic Church. 

There is one critical difference. The Soviets fell from outside forces, namely the influence of the United States.  But the Church, while admittedly having its fair share of outside “attackers,” is falling from within, and most of its decline is entirely of its own making.

The above message could well have come from St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, 1965.  The “field agents?”   Cardinals, bishops and priests.  The objective: implement Vatican II.

And implement it they did.

The result? Disaster.

In the tumultuous 1960’s, the world was on fire as secularism and moral relativism were in vogue. Rather than standing its ground and fighting those undesirable concepts, the Church went in the opposite direction.  In effect, Vatican II allowed Catholics to be “Catholic” in pretty much any way they wanted, playing right into the hands of the Woodstock culture. Unwittingly, that carte-blanche decree served as a launching point for the now-dominant “do whatever you want to do and whatever makes you feel good without remorse” mentality.

In an instant, the things that made Roman Catholicism the world’s dominant force vanished.  To many, the “rock” upon which St. Peter built the Church no longer seemed solid, but more “flexible.” So rather than building upon the mighty history of the Church, expanding its reach while adapting to the times with a measure of common sense, the hierarchy went in the other direction.

Some Church officials, to be sure, disagreed with the Church’s new vision, but they were powerless to stop it, and for good reason.  Not only were they forced to follow orders, but in a much more practical sense, they were no longer able to hold their flock accountable when the Church itself abandoned many of the tenets which made it so attractive in the first place.

Give people an inch, and they take a yard.  And unequivocally, that isn’t limited to religion, but all organized entities.

When a political party strives to become a very large “tent,” trying to be all things to all people rather than affirming its platform --- what it stands for --- it eventually becomes impotent. It’s one thing for a position to evolve as circumstances change, so long as the basic belief structure isn’t irreparably compromised as to make the original tenet unrecognizable.  When that occurs --- and both Parties are guilty of it --- the result is the most unintended of consequences: no one is pleased, and people abandon the organization in ever-growing numbers, both officially and through apathy, indifference and inaction.

Has a football team ever won a Championship when the coach tells his players to practice in whatever way that makes them feel good about themselves --- if they want to practice at all? Has a team ever been successful after making mandatory team meetings optional?  And how long will a team stay a cohesive unit if players simply ignore the coach’s play-calling and do their own thing?

Morale and pride mean everything in building a successful team or institution, but they can only exist when sacrifice and dedication is demanded of the individuals who make up that entity. The only part of JFK’s inaugural address that people remember was when he demanded greatness of Americans by asking “what you can do for your country.”

The Church lost those things when it stopped demanding greatness from its rank and file, instead letting folks off the hook by making things “easier.” It thought that by doing so, it would be the recipient of goodwill from the flock and see its membership increase.

It thought wrong.

Holy Day of Obligation falls on a Saturday or Monday?  You don’t have to go to Church that day, since we’ll just make Sunday mass count for both.

Too hard to fast from midnight to receive Communion? That’s way too long! Make it an hour.

You want to wear cut-off shorts, sports jerseys and flip-flops to Church? If it makes you feel good, then no problem.

Fasting from meat on Friday get in the way of ordering sausage on your pizza? The hell with it. Just do it. We’ll eliminate that rule too.

The list goes on and on, and the more the Church gave in to such expediency, the more people stopped going to Mass, and yes, the more parents stopped sending their children to Catholic schools.  Since the Church took away the essence of Catholic identity --- the very point of being a proud Roman Catholic --- then what was the point of doing either?

And now, several generations later, the carnage is everywhere.

The mosques are full, as are many evangelical churches, yet the churches are empty.

And in those evangelical churches, a significant percentage of the congregation is former Catholics who left the Church not because it was too “hard,” but because it stopped demanding.

Vocations are nonexistent, elderly out-of-touch priests have no replacements, schools are being shuttered at a staggering rate (which goes way beyond this latest round of closings), and scandal and corruption are rampant with no end in sight, as criminal trials and more billion dollar settlements loom.

And worst of all, the cover-ups continue, serving for many as the final nail in the coffin.  Why go to Church to listen to a long-winded uninsprational sermon about “morality” when Church leaders actively stonewall investigations and protect society’s absolute worst --- child predators?

So what does the Church do?

Despite all that baggage, the Church has fast-tracked Pope John Paul II to sainthood faster than anyone else in history --- a man who either was asleep at the switch during the height of the sandal, or chose to look the other way.  He could have aggressively rooted out the perpetrators with a take-no-prisoners attitude, sending an unmistakable message that the Church does not solicit nor will ever tolerate pedophiles to fill its ranks, regardless of the dearth of priests. But he didn’t.

And now, it has rolled out language changes in the liturgy which are ridiculous and inexplicable. Was it just another example of how out-of-touch the Church has become, or a deliberate distraction, as some theorize?

Either way, it doesn’t matter.

Until the Church implements real reforms that will start the road to recovery, the numbers will continue to dwindle.

What are they?

-For starters, demand more of its followers. Don’t cower behind the “if I demand that people dress better for Church, they won’t come at all” mentality. Make them look presentable and act appropriately when entering the House of God --- or tell them they aren’t welcome. The Church would be shocked to see how many MORE people will start attending Church again, and acting more reverently when they are there --- just like public school children have more pride when required to wear uniforms.

-Motivate the flock by relating to them, not talking in platitudes with rhetoric that puts the congregation to sleep.

-Make it tougher to be a Catholic --- to once again be the religious equivalent of the Marines. Sure, a kid taking the forbidden cookie wants it, but deep down, he is really looking for discipline. And sure, we complain when we have to sacrifice, but we feel good about it.

-Market the wonderful aspects of the Church, including it being the largest provider of social services in the entire world.

-Stop being a paper tiger politically. What’s the point of having so much muscle if you’re too scared to use it? If it had, most of the schools would not have closed (discussed in tomorrow’s Part Two).

And most important, eliminate the correct perception that the Church is close-minded and sexist. Allow priests to marry --- and yes, allow women to become priests.  Not only would these common sense changes enable all priest to better relate to their flocks, but they would also attract non-pedophile priests to fill the ranks, allowing those who want to pursue a life of service to not be viewed suspiciously--- by virtually everyone.

And neither would violate Church dogma, since priests married for at least four centuries, and quite possibly much longer. The practice was stopped not for religious reasons, but for disputes over property rights.  And since God was kind enough to bestow upon us annuities, life insurance and other neat financial tools in the last century, it’s time to drop the charade and bring the Church into modern times.

                                                                             *****

The Second Vatican Council set in motion series of changes that, if they didn’t completely shatter much of what was beloved about the Church, certainly called into question Catholic identity. And nowhere are the tragic results more apparent than the dwindling number of Catholic schools. As schools go by the wayside, so does the Church’s future generations. 

In 1911, there were 68,000 Catholic school students in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. That number peaked in the 1960’s at 250,000. After Vatican II took hold, the number plummeted back to 68,000 in 2011 --- despite the U.S. population exploding from 92,000,000 a century ago to 308,000,000.

And now, 49 more schools just went on the chopping block. The biggest irony is that the closings are not a solution, but the symptom of a much greater illness.  To save the remaining schools --- and that’s by no means a sure thing --- the Church needs to solve the problem…

Part II will discuss how to save Catholic education in America.

  
Chris Freind is an independent columnist, television/radio commentator, and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com  His self-syndicated model has earned him the largest cumulative media voice in Pennsylvania. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

A compilation of random observations

The best thing about being a columnist is that there’s never a shortage of material --- especially the kind that leaves you shaking your head.  The bad part is that there isn’t enough time to cover all those topics thoroughly.

So the following is a brief perspective on various events, many of which the media has missed:

Pennsylvania School Choice Disaster:  For the last year, those fighting for educational reform (comprehensive choice in education) but against Senate Bill 1, the fatally-flawed bill in Harrisburg that would have neither educated nor reformed (and is now dead), were lectured on the merits of “incrementalism” by SB 1 proponents. “You have to get a little at a time,” they scolded.

Well, despite never actually trying to pass a broader bill that would include the middle class, which is why school choice failed, the SB 1 folks pushing the incremental approach were, admittedly, smashingly successful.  They set the entire Movement back incrementally.  Comprehensive school choice passed the senate in 1991, and garnered 89 votes in the House (of the needed 102). In 1995, an even broader bill had 101 votes --- just one shy.  Yet in 2011, with a Governor who made vouchers a number one priority, major Republican majorities in both chambers, and literally millions at their lobbying disposal, the SB 1 forces couldn’t even get 90 votes, as evidenced by the vote this week.

So let’s see. In 20 years, we went from 89 to 101 to 90.   Not exactly progress, but definitely incrementalism. 

Political Motivation: The “politically motivated” charge is an overused --- and   meaningless --- line uttered by those who refuse to confront the truth.  Consider two recent examples, with the typical lack of follow-up by the media to call the complainers on the carpet:

Herman Cain is certainly an affable chap, but had no business running for President for two reasons.  First, he was simply clueless on the issues, as his entertaining responses illustrated.  Second, if you’re going to be under the most intense spotlight in the world, you need to be up front with your skeletons so that they are revealed on your terms. But Cain didn’t do that, and he got burned.

How could he possibly think that three sexual harassment suits wouldn’t come to light? In his announcement speech, he could have denied wrongdoing, blamed bloodthirsty trial lawyers and wimpy settle-happy insurance companies, and moved on.  Instead, he just kept blaming Rick Perry and later the Democrats for leaking it, self-righteously stating that the story was “politically motivated.”

Hey Herman, here’s a newsflash.  You were running for President of the United States! Of course it’s politically motivated!  So what? It’s not whether something is politically motivated but whether the allegations were true --- which the national media never seemed to ask. Politicians leak things about their opponents all the time, motivated by their desire to win.   If he had just been honest from the beginning, he might well still be in the race.

And locally, we have all the Democratic leaders fuming about the new congressional districts, redrawn every ten years by the party in power in Harrisburg, which happens to be the GOP.  Therefore --- you guessed it --- we have the Dems leveling the charge that the gerrymandered districts were drawn that way for political purposes (or, as one classicly described the new 7th District, “Meehan-mandered”).

Well, let’s see.  They are congressional seats, filled by… politicians.  They are designed by… politicians.  They will remain unchanged for the next decade, so the drawing was done for … political purposes.  Where’s the surprise?  That’s the way it’s always worked.  Interestingly, the Dems’ statements could be swapped word for word with Republicans when they were out of power.

Wouldn’t it have been refreshing to hear a Democratic official just be honest and say, “Yes, the districts suck for us. Kudos to the GOP.  They got slaughtered in 2006 and 2008, but won when it counted (2010), and now we have to live with the results. It’s our Party’s fault, so we’ll be sure to gear up in 2020 to gerrymander them to our liking.”

But that type of honesty is just a pipe dream in politics.

Catholic Church changes: Church leaders decided that it would be a nice idea to substantially change the liturgy using new translations.  Brilliant move.  It took centuries for most Catholics to even begin mumbling the prayers at Sunday Mass (though singing is still nonexistent), and now they change the whole works?  You can hear the crickets…

Fair or not, it has also left many wondering why the Church spent so much time and energy on such an endeavor while still not cleaning up its own house regarding the (continuing) sex scandals. And not coincidentally, more Catholic school closings will be announced next month.  Sorry, that’s not because of the economy, demographics and population shifts, but lack of leadership, very little transparency and an image of arrogance that will be very hard to break. Amen.

Safe To Fly? Think Again: A hugely important story that got very little attention is the new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) rules that don’t require children under 12 to take their shoes off for x-ray inspection. Additionally, children will receive significantly fewer pat-downs (which, despite the inevitable claims by one or two loud-mouthed whining parents who just want to get on TV, are not intrusive. And the parents are never separated from their children during pat-downs).

Well, at least it’s reassuring that terrorists don’t know about this new policy.  Oh wait…they do.

Not only do we implement such an insane, politically correct procedure, but gleefully announce it to the world.  And since there are numerous examples of terrorists strapping bombs to their children’s bodies in the name of God knows what, does anyone really think they won’t gleefully accept this gift, change their strategy, and place explosives in Junior’s shoe?

And when the next disaster occurs, we’ll all stand around wondering how on Earth this could have happened.  For that answer, just look to the TSA signs announcing the policy.

Of course, before that tragedy occurs, we could end the security theatre and start profiling, make everyone take off their shoes, and have no exceptions for pat-downs.  As always, those who don’t like it can take the bus to Europe.

And finally, for all the Eagles fans who have been praying for Andy Reid’s firing at the end of the season, keep dreaming. The Birds will play just well enough to keep the best three-quarter coach in football right where he is.  After all, this is Philadelphia, and we revel in the misery heaped upon us, year after year, by boneheaded decisions made by our teams.

And you can take that $10,000 bet right to the bank.

Chris Freind is an independent columnist, television/radio commentator, and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com  His self-syndicated model has earned him the largest cumulative media voice in Pennsylvania. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Who could forget that chilling seen in Jaws when Mrs. Kintner, whose young son had just been killed by the shark, approached Chief Brody and slapped him in the face.

Sobbing, she said, “I just found out that a girl got killed here last week, and you knew it! You knew there was a shark out there! You knew it was dangerous! But you let people go swimming anyway? You knew all those things! But still my boy is dead now. And there's nothing you can do about it. My boy is dead. I wanted you to know that.

As she walked away, the Mayor turned to Brody and said, “She's wrong.”

And in a moment of complete candor, the Chief shot back, “No, she's not.”

Too bad the Catholic Church didn’t heed that powerful lesson.  It too has a “shark” problem on its hands, but rather than hunting down the terrorizing threat, it simply throws more bait at the predator.

Common sense dictates that if you enable a shark, it is emboldened to keep preying; therefore, efforts must be made to eradicate the threat. But as Voltaire said, “Common sense is not so common,” and the Church was, and is, no exception.

                                                                *****

If the Church had heeded Mrs. Kintner’s message of accountability and responsibility, it wouldn’t be paying billions in settlements related to widespread priest pedophilia over decades.  It wouldn’t be seeing its own ---including a certain Boston Cardinal flaunting the “Law” --- fleeing the country to Vatican City’s safe havens to avoid possible extradition.  It wouldn’t have to watch high-ranking Church officials be criminally charged for knowingly transferring pedophile priests to other parishes where they were put in direct contact with children --- literally.

And they wouldn’t be witnessing their churches continue to empty and the faithful dwindle, with rank-and-file priests now constituting the world’s largest old-age club, since so few young people enter the Seminary.

It is incomprehensible, then, that in light of those crises, the Catholic Church would respond by fast-tracking the late Pope John Paul II for sainthood, since so many sins occurred under his watch.

If John Paul’s beatification --- part of the path to sainthood--- takes place as scheduled on May 1, it will have been the fastest in history, thanks to Pope Benedict XVI, who waived the requirement of a five-year waiting period after a person’s death for that process to begin.

I’m sorry, but what planet are these folks living on…Uranus?

One way or another, Pope John Paul is complicit in the scandal; he’s either responsible or irresponsible for what occurred on his watch.

Given his vast intelligence and the worldwide publicity surrounding the plague of pedophilia, if the former Pope had no idea what was transpiring, then he was irresponsibly asleep at the switch.

But no matter how insulated he may have been, and no matter how much his inner circle shielded him, it is simply not believable that he had no knowledge of the crimes being committed.  Which leads us to the more likely scenario.

Just as he rightly receives accolades for the good things that happened during the 26 years of his Papacy --- and there were many --- John Paul must also be held at least partly responsible for the illicit activity that occurred.  It seems obvious he looked the other way on the sex scandals, choosing to bury his head in the sand in the hope that the problem would take care of itself.  And that makes the sin mortal.

But even worse was the direct enabling of predator priests and the subsequent cover-ups. Not only was appropriate action not taken most of the time, but in many cases, victims and their families were discouraged from taking next steps and going public, with some being threatened with ridicule and excommunication.  Even high-ranking Church officials were not immune; many were told in no uncertain terms that if they cooperated with investigative authorities, they would be subject to severe repercussions.

As a matter of fact, a letter from 1997 was uncovered last month from the Vatican to Irish bishops demanding that no pedophile cases be turned over to police --- which blew away prior Vatican claims to the contrary.  That letter was signed by the late Archbishop Luciano Storero, Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland.

So unless the Pope never read the papers, watched TV, or communicated with Church administrators under his command, he absolutely knew.  And that should make sainthood out of the question. For the Church to pursue it just shows how out of touch it has become.

Many believe that the cover-ups took place because the Good Old Boy network was taking care of its own.  Maybe so. 

But just as possible is that Church leaders were deceitful because they feared the worst for their Institution if the facts came to light.  And if that’s the case, a question comes to mind. Where was the faith of those leaders?  Faith that the Church, which can be traced directly back to Jesus Christ and a fisherman named Peter, could weather the storm, faith that it could stand firm in the face of adversity, and faith that the solution is to always do the right thing and tell the truth.

In other words, to do what Jesus would have done.

It is a tragedy these leaders didn’t practice the faith that they continually preach.

                                                                  *****

For far too long, the Church has been perceived as either being against things or involved in cover-ups.  Lost in the headlines is all the incredible work the Church performs as part of its core mission.

It is the biggest non-governmental provider of social services in the world, operates the largest network of non-public schools in the nation --- many of which are the only salvation for inner city, non-Catholic, non-white students ---,  and runs numerous hospitals which provide health care to many who would otherwise go without.  Most important, the Church offers a voice of reason and compassion to world leaders and the larger global community, a moral compass in an ever-increasing secular society.

But the Church is at a crossroads.  It can continue to defend the indefensible, drag its feet on huge problems of its own making, and watch its flock dwindle --- a situation sure to be accelerated if Pope John Paul II is sainted.

Or it can tackle the obstacles head-on, admitting mistakes and renewing its commitment to purge its ranks of criminals and predators.  It would also behoove the Church to keep an open mind when considering long-term solutions, such as allowing priests to marry --- as they did for over hundreds (some even say 1,200) years, a practice outlawed for that most non-holy issue:  property rights.

It will be a long road back to respectability, but if a serious effort isn’t undertaken soon to address these issues, what was once the most powerful institution in the world will be reduced to a sad ghost of past glories.

An easy first step: don’t ignore the most faithful.  Case in point:

A lifelong churchgoing Catholic, herself a product of 15 years of Catholic education and longtime staff-member at a Catholic hospital, wrote the Pope a letter last year (cc’ing other Vatican officials) about the abuse her son and his classmates endured at the hands of a priest --- a priest who had allegations of sexual misconduct leveled at him while still in the seminary.  And a priest who was repeatedly transferred to other schools where parents and students were never informed of his past actions.

The point of the letter was simple.  “I am only asking to stop allowing cover-ups to take place. I am asking to eliminate old age as a factor for tolerating these horrible predators. We are asked to forgive but we should not have to continue to care for these criminals.”  She also asked that the fast-tracking of John Paul be halted, despite all the “wonderful things” he did, since he presided over the Church “during these horrible times.”
 
She ends by recounting “how many of (her) friends had left the church because of the pedophile and cover-up issues,” and reminisced how “honored” she felt to have seen Pope John Paul II in person in the United States, and Pope Benedict in St. Peter's Square several years ago.  “I am saddened to say I do not feel the honor is quite the same for me anymore.”

The Church’s response?  It’s been nine months and counting.  Absolutely nothing.

As a human, a parent, and yes, a faithful Catholic, I implore the Church, for God’s sake, to end the preying, and start the praying.  After all, it’s the most Catholic thing to do.

Chris Freind is an independent columnist, television commentator, and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, www.FreindlyFireZone.com
Readers of his column, “Freindly Fire,” hail from six continents, thirty countries and all fifty states. His work has been referenced in numerous publications including The Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, foreign newspapers, and in Dick Morris' recent bestseller "Catastrophe."
Freind, whose column appears nationally in Newsmax, also serves as a guest commentator on Philadelphia-area talk radio shows, and makes numerous other television and radio appearances, most notably on FOX.  He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it