Bradford E. HINZE.  Confronting a Church in Controversy.  New York:  Paulist Press, 2022.  pp. xvii + 190.  $27.95 pb.  ISBN 978-0-8091-5508-8.  Reviewed by Stephen S. WILBRICHT, Stonehill College, Easton MA  02357

            This book is not for the faint-hearted.  Probing deeply and truthfully into the clerical sexual abuse that has plagued the American Catholic Church requires courage and fortitude.  Bradford Hinze’s primary ecclesiological stance in this book is that all situations that have historically caused pain in the life of the Church need to be faced and challenged.  Confronting a Church in Controversy presents this ecclesiology without restraint.

            The book begins where it naturally should, providing a narrative of the trauma of those who have suffered abuse at the hands of clergy.  Thus, Chapter one describes the type of evidence used to try and convict sex offenders, including the nature of predator behavior, the aftermath of sexual assault, and the ongoing pain experienced from an offense.  This chapter is filled with statistics and stories, as the author leaves no stone unturned in describing this “pathology” of the Church.

            Chapter two turns precisely to the “pathology” itself, examining the causes and context upon which clerical sexual abuse is constructed.  Here the author contends that theology itself is at the foundation of dysfunction.  He writes:  “Theology and canon law, among other academic disciples, contributed to the clergy sex abuse crisis by, for example, promoting the idea of ordination as bringing about an ontological change that made some priests believe and feel that they are apart from and beyond the normal rules of human sexual behavior.  They also contributed by establishing a sacralized hierarchy that sought to avoid ‘scandal’ above all else, prioritizing the reputation of the church and priests over the needs of victims” (42).  The chapter ends with an assessment of the theologies of the three popes who have had to deal head-on with clerical sexual abuse:  Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis. 

            The third chapter explores the voices of protest that demand ecclesial reform.  From the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) to the Voice of the Faithful (VOTF), Christian women and men organize to demand a shared Church leadership, in keeping with the vision of the Second Vatican Council.  Chapter four turns to the various (and usually unsatisfying) ways the bishops of the United States handle this challenge.  While the Dallas Charter, drafted by the USCCB in June of 2002, provided “essential norms” for dealing with abuse, Hinze shows that the lack of accountability on the part of bishops continues to plague the Church.  Like chapter two, this chapter ends with the responses of the past three popes.

            Chapters five and six bring the book to a conclusion and work together to offer a roadmap for ecclesial transformation.  First among the changes Hinze calls for is the recognition of the fundamental equality of all the baptized, an ecclesiology affirmed at Vatican II but undermined by the papacies of John Paul II and Benedict XVI.  Hinze is hopeful that Pope Francis’ promotion of synodality could rectify this problem.  At the end of the chapter five, the author expounds upon the belief that the Church must develop an entirely new theological outlook on sexuality in general.  The final chapter provides several examples of dioceses that have implemented the “synodal way,” examples that show the importance of honoring the voices of all the baptized.

            Confronting a Church in Controversy is an important ecclesiological work.  Not only does the author present the crisis of clergy sexual abuse in a compelling and well-documented manner, but he leaves the reader hopeful that the Church has the potential to address this scandal (and other controversial issues) through open dialogue.  All baptized members of Christ’s Body deserve to heard in such a process.