Beyond Scandal and Shame? Ecclesiology and the Longing for a Transformed Church
- First Published August 15, 2019
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Abstract:
The need for reform of the Catholic Church’s structures features prominently in
discussion of the clerical sexual abuse scandal. Less common has been reflection
on the challenge that the crisis presents to ecclesiology, to considering the church
theologically. This article addresses that challenge. It engages three tasks—facing the
church’s brokenness; understanding the church in terms of grace and human freedom;
and facilitating the participation of all the church’s members—that are necessary for
an ecclesiology able to be both realistic and hopeful in the current circumstances.