Customer Reviews

From Scandal to Hope

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Fr. Groeschel is one of the most qualified people to write this book, because he has been deeply involved in the evaluation and treatment of troubled priests. Hib background as a psychologist gives him an insignt few church writers can match. As a result, this is an outstanding analysis of the problem, its cause, and its remedy. He describes the "progressive" movement and how it infected the Catholic Church as well as other institutions. The effects of mistaking permissiveness for tolerance permeated the seminaries and allowed the ordination of unsuitable candidates for the priesthood. Interestingly, this trend has been reversed and the newly ordained tend to be quite orthodox--this is a clear indication that Fr. Groeschel was correct in his analysis of the scandal's roots. The uninformed simply blame the Bishops for the scandals uncovered in recent years. But anyone who wants to go deeper should definitely read From Scandal to Hope. And anyone who cares about true reform will be bolstered by reading how the Church is being made stronger by overcoming this systemic problem.

By far one of Fr. Groeschel's works. This brief text finally gives us a well documented explanation of many epedemics inside our Church, especially the child abuse scandal. Disputing the media frenzy of anti-Catholic bias, Groeschel goes a step further and offers suggestions for laypeople, priests, abusers and bishops concerning the disaster. Groeschel lays out a groundwork of how we American Catholics have become lazy, secularized and victims of a growing "God-less" society. More importantly, he painfully points out examples of failures and offers ideas and encouragement of how we can and must REFORM. This prolific writer, theologian and psychologist has the courage to say that we must return to the anchor of orthodoxy to steer our mother Church (the body of Christ) back on course.

Father Benedict Groeshel is such a calm and graceful writer. The message of this book is pretty simple and straightforward. Don't freak out. Yes, the scandals have been heartbreaking and yes these last couple of years have been one shock after another but don't let it kill your faith or your reasoning ability. The church has, Father Groeschel points out, suffered scandals before and came back stronger from them. Stupid, evil, filthy things have happened and stupid, callow people stood by and did nothing but there is hope.

The book is very honest, and calls for reform as loudly and as clearly as can be. And the reform it calls for isn't just for the clergy, the book has some stern words for the laity as well.

From Scandal to Hope is relief to the grieving and confused and a rebuke to those who are frankly enjoying the scandal for their own reasons. It's a tiny book but packs a wallop.

Fr. Groeschel, is a trained psychologist as well as being a Catholic priest. Anyone, who has seen Fr. Groeschel, on EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network). www.ewtn.com Would know that he is a very good man as well as a good priest. In no way does he say that what has been done to this people is or was ok! He does take a hard look at how we got to where we are now. People want reform! What reform is they do not know. What they really want is an updating of the Catholic Church, woman who can become priest. Birth-control, sex with out consequences, marriage for priest. Have you asked yourself why you may want these things? I think not, because if you read about what the Church teaching on these things are they would make sense to why things are done the way they are! It is because of this updating that we are in the mess we are in! Read the CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH it might help you understand what the church believes and teaches. I feel sorry for the victims, I am angry with the priests who have done this to our church. But I also love my church and many of the men and woman who have answered Gods call. Hope and Love and prayer these are the thing that will see us through this time, it will also be what heals those that are hurting.
John

Fr. Benedict Groeschel pulls no punches in his prescription for the scandals besetting the Church: more fidelity and devotion. As a long-time observer and participant in the life of the Church, the author gives us the benefit of his insights into the current scandals. These insights include: 1.) How failed psychological theories ruined the commitment to celibacy of many clerics and religious; 2.) How the confusion sown by dissenting theologians laid the groundwork for scandal; and 3.) How a renewed sense of reverence and devotion can turns things around at the grassroots level. Groeschel is a witty and wise observer. His is a voice well worth listening to.

While erudite and witty, this account of the current crisis in the Catholic Church, betrays objectivity by attempting to pin all ills related to this crisis on laxed seminary formation and an increasingly permissive Western society.

That may be so. But in the opinion of this reader (and of most Americans) the larger part of this crisis lies in the dereliction of duty and outright cover up practiced by US Bishops and the Roman Curia.

Indeed, key questions such as Why doesn't the Catholic Church come clean about this matter by opening its files to civil authorities?, Why haven't more bishops, who have been found guilty of such cover ups not followed Bernard Law in resigning? and Is there a need for laity and other groups within the Church, not only to express their displeasure, but to demand a place at the decision-making table? are almost ignored.

Sadly, the one prescription that is repeated ad infinitum in the book, namely more orthodoxy, seems to reflect Groeschel's own desired medicine than what is truly needed in the mind of this reader, namely, effective accountability and transparency on the part of the church hierarchy.

As one follows this crisis, this opinion is echoed by those who at least have had as close as a perspective on this debacle as Fr. Groechel, specifically, Bob Bennett, of the Lay Advisory Board that compiled the latest statistics on this scanda...

B. Groeschel's attempt to analyze and propose solutions to the clergy sexual abuse disaster falls far short in both content and presentation. It's poorly written and ill-informed, insulting both the reader's intelligence and the gravity of the situation with pat, predictable "answers." As in the case of most of Groeschel's books, there is a smattering of humor, but here it is entirely out of place. Of course, he blames the usual suspects and even throws in a few more (such as the trend of people dressing "down" for Mass. Come on)! What Groeschel ultimately wants, it seems, (though his confused style makes it hard to discern) is a "ghetto" Church (and at one point he actually defends this desire). But really, he's not worth arguing with in this book, given its slapdash and erratic meanderings. It's simply NOT worth reading. Try George Weigel's "The Courage to be Catholic" or, better, Donald Cozzens' "Sacred Silence."