Render unto Rome: The Secret Life of Money in the Catholic Church
by Edwin A. Schwisow
Render unto Rome: The Secret Life of Money in the Catholic Church, by Jason Berry, Crown Publishers, July 2011.
Adventism from its beginnings has spent a great deal of time gazing on the Roman Catholic Church, publicly denouncing the ‘Papacy’ in its publications and soul-winning crusades, and proclaiming it ‘Antichrist’ and the Dragon’s handmaiden, while managing to quietly imitate it in much of its administrative structure.
Render unto Rome: The Secret Life of Money in the Catholic Church, is written by a practicing Catholic journalist who makes this the third of three highly acclaimed books on the topics of money, secrecy, and revelations of pedophilia among Catholic priests. The author does not excuse any of the church’s behavior, and like a journalistic John the Baptist, makes a serious and plaintive call for the church to change its ways.
Berry points out that the church keeps its financial records vague at best, and unavailable at worst, though one horrendous figure is known officially: Between 1950 and 2009, Rome has spent $1.775 billion to compensate victims of child abuse and provide treatment for errant priests. It is also known that a great deal of that cash has come from the closure of churches and the selling of real estate, to the tune of 1,373 parishes in the U.S. since 1995—more than one a week for the past decade-and-a-half. Yet, during that same time, the church has often elevated priests who participated in its many cover-ups—hardly acts of a contrite and humble spirit! The author characterizes the experience of the typical Catholic lay person as “passive,” in which the parishioner is told to “pray, pay, and obey.”
The past 60 years for Rome has been a near-constant litany of revelations involving embezzlement, sexual indiscretion, and downsizing. Yet, the book does not see Catholicism as either retreating or changing. Secrecy under the most recent two Popes has remained the status quo, and able fund-raisers apparently continue to be rewarded with virtual immunity. One priest, in particular, was known to have two common-law wives and more than a dozen young lovers, both male and female. Yet, his ability to raise funds was so pronounced, the institutional church declined to look into charges against him.
Adventist laymen would do well to read this book — a litany of factual information at times smothering in its detail — and contemplate the lessons it teaches on the need for transparency and accountability, two attributes often lacking in both Adventism and Catholicism. Perhaps by observing the shameful behavior of our proverbial antagonist, we can avoid some of the same pitfalls encountered by her on a scale roughly 100 times our size.
Edited and posted by Clive Holland
Interesting and valid points you make, Edwin, concerning the twin issues of transparency, and accountability. For us, La Sierra University and the continuing shameful episodes there are significant. I do not really think that we can go to Catholic writings and discern virtues we need reformation on and negelct the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. The 7th Day Adventist Church is the only depositary of God's truth on earth today, and until the end. However, we can peruse Catholic writings in matters of Sunday promotion, and the papacy's current plan for worldwide domination once again. God is not against people–He has a great many faithful followers among Catholics who live up to all the light they have, and will come out of Babylon when we give the call.
The shameful and tragic results of forbidding priests to marry are well documented in current history–the verses below having a dual application:
1Ti 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
1Ti 4:3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God has created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
Steve: Can a secretive organization do great good? Undoubtedly! Can a transparent organization do great evil? Absolutely! BUT there seems to be at least a loose correlation between secrecy and entrenched evil; it's just a lot easier to behave badly when you know nobody is likely to find out. Therefore, if and when an organization's cultural commitment to secrecy leads to a shielding of evil, it's incumbent on its own parishioners (Berry is a Catholic journalist), to help lift that secrecy, so the entrenched and hidden evil can be exposed, ventilated, and treated.
I suggest that the independent Adventist press (among other contributions) at times does what Jason Berry, the author, has done, helping to expose and remedy entrenched cultural shortcomings within our communion of faith. Public exposure of the imperfections of an organization rarely leads people to abandon the organization itself; but it does sensitize the members to the need for change and can suggest pathways to that end.
The SDA church has been similarly secretive about its sexual predators as the Catholic church. Only the differences are in numbers. SDA sexual molesters are simply shunted from one conference to another, just like the predatory Catholic priests.
Elaine,
Can you back this up with facts? What is the percentage? 50% of the predators; 20%? 10%? or is it just one or two you may have heard of? And did you know the facts or was it something passed on?
Edwin, You have said it well in the quote below. That is the reason I support AT. I believe it is important for our reformation and revival.
"I suggest that the independent Adventist press (among other contributions) at times does what Jason Berry, the author, has done, helping to expose and remedy entrenched cultural shortcomings within our communion of faith. Public exposure of the imperfections of an organization rarely leads people to abandon the organization itself; but it does sensitize the members to the need for change and can suggest pathways to that end."
As for what this says to cynics and former members, that depends on them; and sometimes we have to take the risk. God took a risk in giving us freedom. However, if I were on the outside looking in, this opportunity for discussion would tell me we care and are ready to listen. It could also say something to them about the way we treat people we disagree with. (I am sure I make some minor mistakes here; but that depends on the person I am disagreeing with–I suspect some of them enjoy the debate.)
Markham,
How would you go about making that distinction? What reason would you give for keeping somone out? Then they would have more reason to be negative. And wouldn't we be getting rid of some who could give advice about what not to do? Don't we have something to learn from them? It does give us a good reason for not being mean-spirited on these comments.
A recent doctoral study by Martin Weber correlates departure from Adventist faith with parental intolerance for any criticism of the organization. There is a difference between criticism of the mission of Adventism, and criticism of how well that mission is being managed. In my personal experience through the years with literally thousands of committed, outspoken Adventists, I have yet to find even one firmly committed multi-generational Adventist who is not motivated, at least in part, by a desire to improve some aspect of what he or she sees as an imperfect, or as-yet-insufficient, denomination. I believe the idea that a church should be regarded as "sacrosanct" and "above reproach" is the lingering afterglow of a once-prevalent view that God's church on earth is infallible, and that any perception of imperfection is the product of Satanicly-induced blindness or brainwashing. Today most Adventists accept that their church is an organization of humans, by humans, and for humans, and that there's a great deal of room for improvement and progress in furthering its mission. That very need, in fact, motivates many to stay on board and do something about it….
The question has been asked regarding evidence that the Adventist church structure somehow emulates, or is patterned on, the Catholic. As an employee of the Adventist denomination in a fairly sensitive public relations post for 27 years, I found that it was commonly accepted within church circles that Adventism, like the Catholic (universal) Church, is designed in the way deemed most conducive to worldwide expansion and corporate unitedness—and a great deal has been adapted organizationally from Catholicism. The primary problem with Catholicism (organizationally) today, is that its structure was developed many centuries ago, and the Church has not yet effectively responded to the Information Age. The Adventist Church has done a better job (in my opinion) but still has a ways to go. Bear in mind, please, that I am speaking of organizational structure, not doctrines or creeds. That's a worthy topic, too, for another day.
There should be nothing sacrosanct about structure and if and when it becomes unwieldy, as Adventism seems to have now, as well in the past, it is time to investigate if the structure once adopted is functioning as efficiently as possible. Top-down is really the old way of functioning, and this was very recently demonstrated with the vote on women's ordination just this month. More localized decisions could enhance Adventism.