WHERE I AGREE AND DISAGREE

This is a quote from a longer article in Crux which you can read in full by pressing the title:

African bishops say Church polarization ‘more political than doctrinal’

“In Africa, we are brought up never to criticize our elders in public,” said Palmer-Buckle, adding that if he had a disagreement or a concern with his father, he would address it “behind closed doors.”

“This is what I could pray for American bishops, for German and other European bishops,” he told Crux. 

“When they step out in the public and create disaffection for the pope, they should not forget they are taking the carpet from underneath their own feet,” adding that bishops are undermining their own authority among the laity when they challenge the pope.

My comments: Part of the problem of the culture of abuse in the Catholic Church and society in general is this idea that the Africans still articulate that we shouldn't air our dirty laundry in public or criticize those who are our elders and superiors even though they deserve criticism behind closed doors.

With all of the sex abuse scandals in the  Church, wasn't this one of the greatest causes that allowed it to fester and proliferate for so long?

And think of the disgraced bishop of West Virginia and Mr. McCarrick.  Shouldn't priests have outed them much sooner and yes publicly?

And if any pope, regardless of who it is and his religious orthodoxy or heterodoxy is spiritually abusing his high office with all kinds of polarizing nonsense, shouldn't that be challenged and publicly for God's sake? Isn't this the way to protect the Deposit of Faith and allow people to know what is kosher and not kosher coming from the lips and lives of our religious leaders in the Catholic Church? No one is above God's law and the Pope isn't God and can't change everything in a Gnostic way.

And shouldn't those who are challenged by their peers and publicly answer the questions directly and publicly?

I don't like all the polarization in the Church and it is on steroids since the election of the current pontiff. It's not entirely the fault of those going public against their elders.