In spite of its title, this book - ultimately - has far more to say about the agenda of Father William Bausch, than it does about "the Scandal of Sexual Abuse." Offensively, Father Bausch even seems to take a certain pleasure in the scandal in which the Church finds herself....
"The strict hierarchy with priest over laity, bishop over priest, and pope over bishop is melting. This, perhaps, will be the ultimate casulaty of the scandal - and it's long overdue....As for Rome, she has let them [i.e., the laity] down too many times, especially on the birth control issue....they [i.e., the U.S. bishops] bowed to Rome's pressue not to discuss in any sympathetic way contraception, celibacy, or the ordination of women" (pp. 75 - 85).
Just looking at contraception, it's absolutely disheartening to find a priest so unappreciative of Paul VI's courageous stance - nearly 4 decades after the pope's "Humanae Vitae." A quick re-read of that document - particularly its warnings of family breakdown and coercive contraceptive policies adopted by governments - show Pope Paul VI to have been truly prophetic.
Father Bausch would do well to reacquaint himself with authentic Catholic teaching. In particular, I would suggest that he start with the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body.
