VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis blamed "clericalism" in the Catholic Church for creating a culture where criminal abuse was widespread and extraordinary efforts were made to keep the crimes hidden.

If the priesthood is to be reformed, we must tackle the disease of clericalism. It won't be easy. Clericalism is so deeply ingrained in our structures and way of thinking that we almost can't ...

Thoughts, readers? He’s talking about clericalism and its fruits. As a conservative who every now and then looks at Fr. Zuhlsdorf’s blog, I don’t like to see him brought up here, but this ...

A new report explores how a culture of clericalism contributes to the cover-up of sexual abuse by clergy in the Catholic Church. The study reveals a widespread belief among church personnel that a ...

In remarks in October, Francis repeated his critique of “clericalism,” by which he means undue domination of the church by an arrogant priestly elite. He said that clericalism leads to a ...

Two major problems have come up time and time again: clericalism and the place of women in the Church. If you haven’t heard much about this effort, which completes its first phase this summer ...

For the three years preceding the Second Vatican Council, and all during that council, Roman Catholics added to the prayers after Mass (does anyone remember those?) Pope John XXIII's "Prayer to ...

Cardinal Sean O’Malley said last week that Pope Francis is committed to ending “the scourge of sex abuse.” Doth the cardinal protest too much? I hope not. But things are not going well on ...

while diminishing the agency of lay people and religious. Clericalism operates throughout the Church by offering incentives and enablements that enhance the agency of some while restricting the agency ...

“Clericalism” is the attitude clerics discounting and suppressing the voices and contributions of laypeople. In Pope Francis’ 11 years in the papacy, “clericalism” has become an ...

Clericalism, which Pope Francis despises as “a cancer” is a major obstacle in the Church’s progress to synodality in Bangladesh, as it is across Asia. While Catholics are enthusiastic about becoming ...

Father John Nguyen Ngoc Nam Phong isn’t surprised by such behavior of priests. “Clericalism discourages evangelization work, destroys the Church life, sets bad examples for others, loses trust and ...