When I meet people who are becoming Catholic now, “at a time like this,” the fact that struggles are present inside the church does not seem to especially bother them. They’re used to struggle and uncertainty, they don’t expect a simple refuge, and they recognize that any space of real spiritual power — which the Catholic Church still is, I promise — will inevitably be a zone of contestation as well. As it has been from the beginning, from failed and feckless popes all the way back to failed and even treacherous disciples. If the story that Christians hold up for the world a few days hence is really the greatest and most important ever told, then Christianity will come through this crisis as it has come through past ones. And whether you’re a liberal, a conservative or just a believer trying to stay out of the crossfire, you should feel confident that what happens inside Roman Catholic Christianity will show some of those ways through.

After first survey findings were published last year, researchers conducted a deeper analysis of the data, which was published in November. Answers to questions about how priests are doing on a personal level suggest that, in that sense, they are “thriving.” Meanwhile, they balk when asked about the diocese. “If you ask them about their diocese, about their bishop, they say, ‘Don’t talk to me.’ They don’t want to go there. That’s miserable. So institutionally they’re kind of cynical,” he said. “At the same time, they’re very hopeful and very committed when it comes to personal vocation.”

This anniversary should not pass without mentioning Dulles's critique of the Dallas Charter (Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People) approved by the American bishops in 2002 as a way of dealing with allegations of priestly sexual abuse. From the beginning, Dulles recognized the significant theological problems with the charter—problems that, unfortunately, have remained unaddressed in the years since his death. Early on, the cardinal warned American bishops that the charter’s norms were so harsh as to establish an “adversarial relationship” between the episcopacy and the presbyterate. His warnings have proved prophetic. Dulles saw immediately that the implementation of the charter strained both natural justice and Catholic theology. Accusations of priestly abuse were deemed credible simply if they were not entirely groundless, the very definition of abuse appeared ambiguous, proper remuneration for accused priests was unresolved, and there were persistent problems with the process for returning priests to public ministry. Dulles argued that, with their charter, the bishops undermined priestly morale and struck a blow against the Church as an institution in which justice reigns. The recent National Study of Catholic Priests, conducted by the Catholic University of America, has convincingly displayed the truth of Dulles’s remarks, with an astounding 76 percent of American priests finding current episcopal leadership untrustworthy. A commission charged with revising the charter’s norms—in accordance with both natural justice and Christian theology—would be a fitting tribute to the cardinal’s theological acumen and to his profound love for the Church.

Some critics of the decision to opt for bankruptcy reorganization have speculated the church is merely protecting its assets or that the Archdiocese can seek financial help from the Vatican. Others have suggested the church is hiding assets or that it is flush with cash. Still others believe the Archdiocese is using bankruptcy to avoid its moral obligation to aid survivors. None of this is true. In fact, the Archdiocese’s annual income versus liabilities allows it to operate on a relatively thin margin, with surplus funds used to operate the many Church ministries that support those most in need.

Increasingly, legal experts say, organizations flooded with a vast number of lawsuits accusing them of wrongful harm are relying on the bankruptcy system — not the civil legal system, as is typical — to devise settlements. By filing for bankruptcy, those entities are offered a path that shields them from future civil litigation, in part because bankruptcy is rooted in the idea that someone facing losses should have an opportunity to wipe the slate clean. In filing a brief in support of Purdue Pharma, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said these types of settlements offered a chance to fairly compensate survivors of sexual abuse while ensuring the longevity of the Catholic church . . . "the only viable means for the Catholic infrastructure in many communities to survive what has become decades of mission-crippling litigation".