The Catholic Church in the U.S. has found itself in the eye of a storm of criticism the past two years over the scandal of clergy sexual abuse.

Even after the nation’s bishops adopted their far-reaching and historic “Charter for the Protection of Children Young People” in June 2002, secular and Catholic commentators continued to offer their critique of what some call the “crisis” in American Catholicism.

But what’s been lost amid the criticism and “most astonishing” about the scandal is most Catholics have remained loyal to the church and their local parishes, according to Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Curry of Los Angeles.

“In spite of having experienced the worst hurricane and storm in the history of American Catholicism, the people have not abandoned the church,” Bishop Curry told some 95 priests of the diocese gathered for their annual study days in mid-October at Christ the King Retreat Center in Citrus Heights.

“The great test that was presented by some ñ that the scandal would destroy the church ñ has already taken place and the people have said that’s not the case,” he contended.

“We can find an abundance of grace in the fidelity of the people, in their devotion to their faith,” he said. “In my experience, people are angry, frustrated and scandalized, but they are not adrift. Many want change and they know what they want, but they are not rudderless, without any direction.”

Bishop Curry, 60, has served as regional bishop for the Santa Barbara pastoral region of the Los Angeles Archdiocese since 1994. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1967 and served in various ministries in the archdiocese for 27 years, including associate pastor, high school teacher, director of clergy formation and education, and vicar for clergy from 1986 to 1991.

He is also a constitutional historian, having earned a master’s degree in history from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and a doctorate in constitutional history from the Claremont Graduate School, specializing in the English and American background to the First Amendment.

He is the author of two books: “Farewell to Christendom: The Future of Church and State in America,” published in 2002, and “The First Freedoms: Church and State in America to the Passage of the First Amendment,” published in 1987.

The bishop told the priests gathered they should take hope and confidence from their own pastoral experience of the past two years, as well as national surveys which indicate that the scandal has not affected most Catholics’ commitment to the church, and has not changed either how much money they contribute or how much time they are involved at their parishes.

He believes most Catholics have remained faithful because of a “culture of achievement” they find in their pastors and parishes, especially in implementing the reforms of the Second Vatican Council during the past three decades.

Among the factors contributing to this culture, he said, are the reform of the liturgy, a transformation of the church’s approach to the Scriptures, and a multitude of new ministries since Vatican II, such as the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and social outreach.

“The difference between a parish in 1950 and a parish today is enormous,” he said. “Priests sometimes forget to reflect on the enormity of the change that we have managed, led, negotiated, and got chewed out about in many cases. But we have created a church that is vibrant, that most of the people like, and that has changed incredibly since most of us went to the seminary.”

He cautioned that priests face many challenges ahead, regardless of the current sex abuse crisis.

“I would argue that the challenges we face are the result of our success, not of our failures,” he said. “We have the challenges of a shortage of priests, getting the laity more involved, a renewed evangelization and tackling the social problems of our day.”

Bishop Curry contended that the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin’s “Common Ground” initiative of the 1990s has not been successful in establishing a middle ground between polarized groups in the church.

He said Catholic groups and pundits on the left and the right have used the sexual abuse crisis to promote their own agendas.

“We are farther away from common ground than we were before,” he said. “The right has used the crisis to condemn what they see as the tolerance of dissent, homosexuality and the lack of fidelity to church teachings. The left has used the crisis to relentlessly advance their own agenda for change, sometimes to attack the hierarchy and the clerical priesthood and sometimes the whole structure of the church.”

He advocates a search for “higher ground” to counter Catholic pundits’ opinions about American Catholicism, which he views as mostly pessimistic.

The first step, he told priests, is “to internalize in our own hearts and minds, the culture of achievement, to the point where it will promote a confidence in ourselves and in our congregations as we proceed to meet the challenges of the future.”

“We need to express to our people the enormity of their staying with the church as it moves through troubled waters,” he said. “We need to let them know that we are daily aware of their loyalty and that we appreciate it. We need to acknowledge that we owe the people — big time.”

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