Vatican tries to rein in expectations for sexual abuse summit

[MineralMan]

5. And only in the short term.

He may think he's protecting the RCC, but that's a false idea. The kitty has escaped the sack at this point. The information about the extent of sexual abuse of children by priests is rapidly becoming known, and not just here in the United States.

By continuing to shrug off this horrible network of abusers and those who protect them, he may well be dooming the RCC in the long term. With the faith community dwindling in size, less and less money will be forthcoming from Catholics, and the coffers will begin to shrink. Fewer people will become priests and other religious in the church.

Already, there is a shortage of priests, and even nuns, who are beginning to chafe at being the maidservants of the church. Huge financial judgments against archdioceses and dioceses connected with the long-term child sexual abuse, are sapping available funds. For example, here in the Twin Cities, the archdiocese has been forced to sell off real estate, including the archbishop's mansion. Catholic schools are closing or being consolidated and parishes of historical significance are being shuttered. And that's in just one jurisdiction.

The Pope is being short-sighted, to say the very least. Perhaps he's busy praying for the Second Coming. Who knows? Perhaps he's planning to shuffle off this mortal coil and pass the problem on to the next Cardinal to get the white smoke. But his announcement that people should not expect too much is alarming, or should be, to Catholic parishioners.