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Scandal and Church Reform

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The recent wave of allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic priests in the U.S. has plunged the American Catholic Church into the worst scandal to ever hit it. Coupled by reports of homosexuality among the clergy, the allegations have triggered a renewed debate over the reformation of the Catholic Church's policies. A recent editorial in a special issue of "The Pilot," the official newspaper of the Boston archdiocese, called for the Roman Catholic Church to address questions about priestly celibacy, homosexuality among clergy, and women priests. But, will such rhetoric lead to actual reform?

In this week's show, we presented a lecture by Emory University professor Mark Jordan on the topic of "Telling Secrets: Scandal and Church Reform." The lecture was delivered as part of Boston University's 2002 Brown Lecture Series, the theme of which is "Truth Telling in the Churches."

In his lecture, professor Jordan focused on the issue of finding ways to talk about reforming church power outside the rhetoric of scandal. Afterwards, he responded to questions and comments from the audience present at the lecture.

This program aired on March 24, 2002.

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