The Catholic church has been in decline for several decades. Whether one examines the priest sexual abuse crisis, Mass attendance, leadership failures, or the worldwide priest shortage, Dr. Kinkels message is clear: reform is needed. There is a sexual abuse problem and leaders did not deal with it effectively. We find a 'code of silence', missed reform opportunities, and the underlying mismanagement of the chaos. After documenting the cover-up by bishops and others, The Decline of the Catholic Church points out the contradiction: bishops protect the devious priests and the church's reputation versus the need to protect children and prevent molestation in the future. The book developes a very plausible explanation as to how the sex scandal mushroomed in the 1970s and why it is now apparently declining. There is a priest shortage (the church is short 150,000 priests worldwide based on 2002 statistics).
Instead of seriously examining data on church problems, bishops attack research analysts who predict what the shortage of priests will look like in 2015, if nothing is done to alleviate the problem. Kinkel suggests that the bishops ordain married deacons to the priesthood when feasible (there are 13,000 currently). Secondly, married men and women should be considered for ordination. Instead the bishops import foreign priests (Chicago's data: 50% of incardinated priests are foreign born) as a stop-gap measure while praising celibacy. There is an organizational problem in the church. The church is run by old men who espouse conservative ideologies that fail to address modern problems. The book compares global retirement trends in corporations versus church practice and finds that the Catholic church is about 15 years out of sync. They must retire church leaders earlier, and have term limits for bishops and popes.
There is a need for regular general councils which have historical precedence. This is so because the present power structure of the pope and curia makes too many mistakes, e.g., birth control, bishops' cover-up of sex abuse, Banco Ambrosiano scandal which cost all parties millions, 10 years to agree on English translation for scripture readings at Mass, etc. Regular calling of councils can shake up this lazy monopoly. Lastly, Kinkel gives the most comprehensive analysis of the priest shortage in the U. S. and why this is the most serious problem the church faces, not the sex abuse crisis. The church is in the antechamber of Reformation II. Catholics are losing faith.
