Posts by David Gibson
Police And Priests
The culture of corrupt police departments is often invoked as the best analogy to explain how the sexual abuse of children by Catholic clergy could have taken root and endured so long and with such impunity. But the brutal killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, the ensuing protests and the police overreaction, has shown…
Read MorePell’s Toll
The April 7 decision by Australia’s High Court to quash the conviction of Cardinal George Pell on child sex abuse charges brought an end to a legal odyssey that for the Catholic Church was as high-profile as the case against former U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. But Pell’s saga will continue to reverberate, and perhaps in…
Read MoreGood Friday
Like so many others living under this coronavirus quarantine, walking the dog is a blessed excuse for getting out of the house, at least for a few minutes, for a breath of fresh air and the occasional wary nod of confession to other dog-walkers. “Yes, I know she doesn’t really need to go out, but…
Read MorePope Francis is “The Outsider”
If there is one constant in the era of change heralded by the ministry of Pope Francis it is the implacable opposition of the pope’s conservative foes. Hence the justifiable, and immensely useful, focus of Christopher Lamb’s aptly-titled new book, “The Outsider: Pope Francis and His Battle to Reform the Church.” Lamb is the Rome…
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