“Set up a Constitution for the Catholic Church!” Those were the instructions of Pope Paul VI during the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). In the wake of the dramatic deterioration of the credibility of the Catholic Church, that charge–which was aborted by Pope John Paul II early in his pontificate–needs to be completed on every level of the Catholic Church, from parish to the universal Church.

The American Catholic Cardinals were summoned to Rome by the Pope in the wake of the current outcry over sexual abuse by priests. Terrible as the damage was to the individual victims, most of the anger has been over the mishandling of the sexual abuse once it was discovered, and the subsequent cover-up. 

The basic reason why the Pope did not wait until the regular June meeting of the American bishops to deal with the issue, but called the Cardinals to Rome, is money! The American church has already lost a billion dollars in court cases and settlements. Many billions more will  be lost, and contributions will shrink, possibly even bankrupting the American Catholic church, if truly serious steps are not taken quickly. 

Ad hoc measures limited to the current sexual abuse crisis will not be sufficient. American Catholics–and American prosecutors and courts–expect structural changes in the church, incorporating basic elements of Democracy, including at least: 1) Participation of the laity in real decision-making positions in choosing and overseeing church leaders, including bishops; 2) Transparency in all matters dealing with how priests interact with the laity, young or old, male or female; 3) Accountability of all leaders to the church membership. 

The Cardinals should have at least begun to come up with something like this if the bleeding of billions of dollars is to be stanched–but they didn’t! Hopefully the bishops will in June, and if they do, this will be the beginning of the Democratizing of the Catholic Church. This crisis, thus, can turn out to be a felix culpa, a “happy fault,” leading to the growth and maturing of the American Catholic Church.

However, Catholics cannot simply wait and hope that the bishops will act adequately. In the end, all of us Catholics, laity, priests, and bishops, need to begin now to take up Pope Paul VI’s charge of drafting a Constitution and work to bring it to completion–on every level of the church, local, regional, national, global. 

In fact, there have been numberless elements of a Constitution in many of the church’s documents over the centuries. In reality, for more than half its history, the Catholic Church has been a “constitutional monarchy.” Moreover, a Catholic Constitution is in the spirit of Jesus’ Gospel of liberation and love and would be adaptive of the most mature governance principles available at the beginning of the Third Millennium. The Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church (ARCC) has already developed a Proposed  Catholic Constitution (see http://arcc-catholic-rights.org/constitution.htm),  in consultation with Catholic organizations world-wide. The following are the key governance principles on which that Proposed Catholic Constitution is based (quotations included):

1. Principle of Written Constitution

 “Throughout the Church each community shall form its own body of governing regulations.”
2. Principle of Subsidiarity

 “The principle of subsidiarity shall rule throughout the Church, that is, all decision-making rights and responsibilities shall remain with the smaller community unless the good of the broader community specifically demands that it exercise those rights and responsibilities.”
3. Principle of Election

 “Throughout the Church, leaders shall be elected to office through appropriate structures, giving voice to all respective constituents.”
4. Principle of Limited Term of Office

 “Leaders shall hold office for a specified, limited term.”
5. Principle of Separation of Powers

 “A separation of legislative, executive and judicial powers, along with a system of checks and balances, shall be observed. This entails representatively elected councils and leaders, as well as established judicial systems at all levels. All branches share responsibility in ways appropriate to the spirit of the Gospel and this Constitution.”
6. Principle of Accountability

 “All leaders and councils will regularly provide their constituents an account of their work, including financial accounts, to be reviewed by an outside auditor when appropriate.”
7. Principle of  Representativeness

 “All groupings of the faithful, including women and minorities, shall be equitably represented in all positions of leadership and decision-making.”
8. Principle of Dialogue

 “Throughout the Church the formulations and applications of the tradition shall be arrived at through a process of charitable and respectful dialogue.”

Leonard Swidler, Chair of the “Constitution International Drafting Committee” and Founding Member (1980) of the Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church. Tel: 215-477-1080; dialogue@temple.edu, is Professor of Catholic Thought at Temple University since 1966, and author of over 60 books, including Toward a Catholic Constitution (Crossroad, 1996).
 

CONTACTS:

Mary Louise Hartman, President: 609-921-9134; mlhmls@aol.com
John Sheehan, National Coordinator: 413-527-9929 arccangel@charter.net
Leonard Swidler, Constitution Chair 215-477-1080 dialogue@temple.edu