The Catholic Herald’s new US readers know that this is a horrible time for American Catholics. Mass-goers were assured that the Church had tackled clerical sex abuse. Alas, the assurances came from bishops who were still covering up crimes, including those of arch-abuser Theodore McCarrick, who – incredibly – drew up the bishops’ sex abuse guidelines.
What many readers may not know is that the civil war provoked by the McCarrick revelations, and by mixed messages from Rome, is being fought by a colourful array of Catholic “tribes” – noisy groups of priests and laity who disagree on pretty much everything. Liturgy, sexual morality, Pope Francis, Vatican finances – there are fault lines everywhere, growing wider thanks to a deadly combination of scandals and social media.
