Black Box Report

The Catholic Church is my church. I've been baptized, confirmed and married in the church and even send my kids to parochial schools. But as much as I love my parish, I reserve the same devotion to the Vatican. Like many fellow Catholics, I cannot simply turn the page on the abuse scandal; a scandal tolerated, even fostered by the powers that be. That distrust is compounded by a disconnect too many of us prefer to ignore. For much of my adult life I’ve done the same tricky dance many others have - ignoring what we don't want to hear and embracing the rest.

How many people in the pews really adhere to the ban on contraceptives? How many are actually pro-choice or don't demonize gays? After all the scandals many of us don't feel we ought to be lectured on our failings, but at the same time want nothing more than an ailing church to be restored to health.

Declining attendance, vanishing priests and shuttered doors to churches and their schools all scream urgency, but our Pope and those closest to him simply say, "maintain the faith."

I wish it were that easy.