1. There's an interesting dichotomy between how the general public is reacting to the Pennsylvania report on child sex abuse in the Catholic church and how conservative Catholics are reacting.
2. I think the attitude of the general public is "this is horrible but it's not anything new. We already know what the church is like. We've seen Spotlight." Among conservative Catholics on the other hand, there's a real crisis.
3. This article by Austin Ruse is a good example of the shift I'm talking about. crisismagazine.com/2018/rod-right…
4. At the beginning of the century, Ruse bought into all the standard apologetic lines: "I believed the bishops had to protect the Church, that the lawyers were probably right to offer compensation to victims and require them to keep quiet so as not to scandalize the faithful."
5. Ruse was one of the die-hard defenders of the Church even in the wake of the Boston Globe's revelations. "I thought the media was ginning up what was a scandal, to be sure, but one that was small, localized, and now blessedly over."
6. But now something has broken and Ruse can't buy it anymore. And he's not alone. There's a real shift among conservative Catholics. They're getting to where the rest of us were 20, 30, 40 years ago.
7. I'd like to see some reporting on why this shift is happening. This could just be the straw that breaks the camel's back. But also, having a reformist Pope has made these Catholics more critical of hierarchy, perhaps creating path for this shift
8. Of course not all conservative Catholics are shifting. Among the die hards are Bill Donahue (a.k.a. Catholic League). He's angry that others are jumping ship.
