Nothing to hide

"The very worst scandal of the Catholic Church isn't just the clergy sex-abuse crisis, but the catalyst behind it," says Russell Shaw, author of the newly released Nothing To Hide: Secrecy, Communication, and Communion in the Catholic Church (Ignatius, 174 p.).
Shaw, a former insider privy to the workings of the Catholic Church's hierarchy and bureaucracy, discusses in the book "the very worst scandal of our times" and what can be done to turn it around for good.

A prominent Catholic author and journalist, and former director of information for the United States Catholic Conference, Shaw uncovers the snarled bureaucratic practices that are the real culprit for the laity's mistrust. He contends that the stifling misuse of secrecy, and the immenseharm it has done in the Church, is a theological and practical problem which presents an enigma to Catholics and the rest of the world looking to the Church's example.

In Nothing to Hide, Shaw shows how the problem of secrecy goes back many centuries in the Church, and has come to be an accepted practice. Further, he shows how secrecy's abuse conflicts with the very essence and mission of Christ, encourages manipulation, contributes to ignorance about the Church and her teaching, and ultimately leads to alienation, anger, rebellion and rejection of Catholicism.

"But then, too, the laity have contributed plenty to the problem," says Shaw. "They do that by accepting the abuse of secrecy and clericalist culture as part of the god-given, intrinsic nature of the Church. Then they set up straw men to knock down in explaining why nothing can change." But Shaw's book shows that it can and should.

Though there are instances in the Church where secrecy should be maintained -- as in the seal of the confessional, or to protect people's privacy rights -- the clergy are really the "management" level in the Church, says Shaw. In that context, the abuse of secrecy becomes a typical tool of aclericalist culture. But, he says, this flies in the face of the Church's nature as communion -- where all the members of the Church are fundamentally equal in dignity and rights.

Pope Benedict XVI has stated that "we cannot communicate with the Lord if we do not communicate with each other.

"The secrecy-problem is felt in most parishes as well, even those not directly embroiled in the sex-abuse scandal.

"Financial scandals that erupt now and then in dioceses and parishes are another example," says Shaw.
"The decision making in the Church often takes place behind closed doors -- chancery doors, parish doors -- and is done by a small group of insiders. There is no consultation with the people at large, and they are simply presented with the decisions as accomplished facts: "here's how it's going to be." They are expected to accept gracefully, and contribute resources accordingly. Yet Canon Law actually delineates criteria for membership on Church councils and advisory boards, and "wouldn't putting those criteria in action be a first step in improving those organizations?" Shaw asks.

Secrecy has a number of "cousins", according to Shaw, which are just as damaging to the Church and its faithful ... like stonewalling, happy talk, spin, deception, failure to consult, rejection of accountability, and other "smooth-over" tactics. "These are all breakdowns of open, honestcommunication, which ought be the rule of the Church at every level.

"He concludes the book with some practical suggestions for resolving the secrecy problem and its stigma at all levels in the Church. Among them are:
* make media-access to general meetings the rule;

* give diocesan and parish councils a real say in policy-making and make theirmembership and meeting-minutes a matter of public record;

* liberate diocesan newspapers from being PR "house organs";

* implement honest media-relations and freedom-of-information policies in parishes,dioceses and national Church organizations;

* address the destructive impact of clericalism and take steps to root out its
attitudes, structures, and practices once and for all.

"Because the Church is a communion, not a political democracy, openness and accountability are even more crucial for its health and credibility," says Shaw.

Archbishop of Denver, Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., says, "Nothing To Hide is a provocative, important book that explores the boundary between appropriate confidentiality in the Church, and the kind of secrecy that cripples Christian community life."

"Russell Shaw makes a persuasive case that it is time, at long last, to implement the teachings of the Second Vatican Council on the rights and responsibilities of the laity in the life of the Church," says Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, editor-in-chief of First Things magazine. "Let's hope the bishops and other Church insiders recognize this important message of reform on the part of someone so committed to the Catholic faith."

"In this sobering and much-needed book, Shaw shows how some shepherds abused secrecy, and ... compounded the sex misconduct crisis with a broader crisis of trust in clerical leadership," says Notre Dame Law School professor, Gerard V. Bradley.

Met mijn grote dank aan Clerical Whispers, Fides-Libertas-Veritas, die er alweer was toen ik zocht en een amerikaan die de weg wees.