1.The bishop of Portsmouth in England writes to the pope:

I am writing in the light of the terrible scandals of the abuse of minors by clergy revealed by the Pennsylvania Grand Jury report. To these can be added the scandals in Chile, Australia, Ireland and now here in England too, in light of the Independent Investigation into Child Sexual Abuse. Clerical sex abuse seems to be a world-wide phenomenon in the Church. As a Catholic and a Bishop, these revelations fill me with deep sorrow and shame. I pray for the healing of the poor victims. I pray for the forgiveness of the perpetrators. I pray too for myself, and for all our clergy and people, that by our penance we will grow in holiness.
I wanted to make a constructive suggestion. Would it be possible to call an Extraordinary Synod on the Life and Ministry of Clergy? The Synod might begin with a ‘congress,’ attended by the bishops but formed of laity and others expert in the clergy abuse scandals and in the safeguarding of children and the vulnerable. The fruits of this could then be taken forward into a Synod of Bishops proper. I suggest the Synod be devoted to the identity of being a priest/bishop, to devising guidance on life-style and supports for celibacy, to proposing a rule of life for priests/bishops and to establishing appropriate forms of priestly/episcopal accountability and supervision. Canon Law could then be revised in the light of the outcomes and each Diocese be required to apply it by developing its own Directory for Clergy.
As a Bishop, I seem to have few tools to facilitate the day to day management of clergy. For example, when I was a seminary formator, we spent several years devising a balanced system of annual assessments and scrutiny, based on Pastores Dabo Vobis, to help an individual student take responsibility for his formation. By contrast, once ordained, priests/bishops have few formal ongoing assessments or ministerial supervision. It ought to be possible to devise mechanisms to help bishops in their responsibilities towards clergy and to help clergy realise they are not ‘lone operatives’ but ministers accountable to the direction and leadership of the diocese – nihil sine episcopo.

And as Michael Ledeen is wont to say: Faster, please!

2. Ann Corkery:

Clericalism, careerism, and a misplaced sense of collegiality have contributed to this mess. It will take Catholic lay leaders to rid the church of this rot.

3. And I linked to this yesterday but it’s worth pulling this out here (from Fr. Roger Landry): “To try to eliminate clericalism without eradicating clerical sexual infidelity would be like trying to address a rising river without stemming one of its major tributaries. The reform of the Church requires fighting both.”

4. Mother Teresa on priestly celibacy

5.

Read my Q&A with Fr. Berg here.

ALSO: (St. Louis archdiocese invites attorney general to review files

Seton Hall announces independent review of seminary accusations

From a little earlier in the month: Abuse expert: Crisis is call to new vision of priesthood, accountability)

6. Naomi Schaefer Riley in the Washington Post: “Children’s interests should come first. And of course it is most often in the interests of children to remain with their parents — but not always.”

7. Charlotte Allen: Banning Islamic veils goes too far—but some British schools now require them.

8. On Ernest Hemingway’s “Today Is Friday”

9. Grazie Christie offers a prod to an examination of conscience in a tweet.

10. On the Return of Big Bookstore Chains

PLUS: This is one of my favorite stories of the week.