12/22/2025
Who will Save the Church? The Laity and the Media Will!
Guest column by Ottavio LoPiccolo, 12-20-25 (616 words)
The plight of the 1,100 former Saint Clare Hospital employees who lost their pensions seems to be over. Recently, the Schenectady County Supreme Court awarded the pensioners $54.2 million in damages after a jury found that employees of the Albany Catholic Diocese (Bishop Emeritus Scharfenberger and Hubbard) were liable for mismanaging the hospital’s pension plan.
This is one of the many scandals that have rocked the US Catholic Church, which in the last 20 years has spent more than $5 billion on allegations of sexual abuse of minors, according to a report by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University.
Catholics have seen too many scandals; therefore, it is imperative that in the future, we, the laity- all practicing Catholics- do our part in demanding justice and necessary reforms from the Church; by speaking out and demanding accountability, transparency, and reparations toward victims and those who have been wronged and/or mistreated.
We, the laity, should ask ourselves two questions: What can we do to obtain justice? And how can we save the Church from corruption? The answers came from three top Catholic leaders.
According to Archbishop Fulton Sheen (deceased) the laity will save the Church. In a speech to the Knights of Columbus in June 1972, he said:
"Who will save our Church? Not our bishops, nor our priests and religious. It is you, the people, the laity. You have the minds, eyes, and ears to save the Church. Your mission is to ensure that your priests behave like priests, your bishops like bishops, and your religious like religious."
Archbishop Sheen urged the laity to assume responsibility for saving the Church, and warned against turning exclusively to the clergy for solutions. According to him, lay people are called to be active and alert in the world, transforming society through faith. Hence, their testimony and their example of Christian life are crucial for the spiritual renewal of the Church and for countering the forces of evil.
Bishop Robert Barron, from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, offered a similar solution. In his booklet, Letters to a Suffering Church, he wrote:
“Fight by raising your voice in protest; fight by writing a letter of complaint; fight by insisting that protocols be followed; fight by reporting offenders; fight by pursuing the guilty until they are punished; fight by refusing to be mollified by pathetic excuses.”
Boston’s Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley, after he saw the film "Spotlight" (Oscar for Best Picture), Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley, talked about the impact the film and its real-life investigation have had on the Catholic Church and the victims of abuse. He said the following:
"By providing in-depth reporting on the history of the clergy sexual abuse crisis, the media led the Church to acknowledge the crimes and sins of its personnel and to begin to address its failings, the harm done to victims and their families and the needs of survivors," the Cardinal said in a statement to ABC News. "In a democracy such as ours, journalism is essential to our way of life. The media's role in revealing the sexual abuse crisis opened a door through which the Church has walked in responding to the needs of survivors."
Therefore, let’s remember that as practicing Catholics, we have a duty to act and demand justice and necessary reforms, since we are part of the Body of Christ- the biggest part of the Church! We must do so if we want fewer scandals in our Church. And last, but not least, let’s also pray and support our religious leaders. They will stay on course if we stay alert and engaged in the Church.
The author is a lifelong practicing Catholic.
References
1] Letters to a Suffering Church, by Bishop Robert Barron, p. 101
Published by Word on Fire, Park Ridge, IL 60068. © 2019 by Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, found at https://sufferingchurchbook.com/ )
2] More than $5 billion spent on Catholic sexual abuse allegations, new report finds. During the 20 years of surveys, the respondents reported 16,276 credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors by priests, deacons or religious brothers.
https://www.ncronline.org/news/more-5-billion-spent-catholic-sexual-abuse-allegations-new-report-finds
Those financial troubles have led dioceses throughout the country to sell diocesan property, including diocesan headquarters, seminaries, schools and churches. In the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York, every parish had to pay amounts ranging from five figures to more than $1 million toward a bankruptcy settlement.
3] Post verdict bankruptcies pause St. Clare’s pension trial punitive phase. FB Post 12-17-25.
More: https://tinyurl.com/3cr3nfkm
Joseph Pofit filed for bankruptcy on Monday, while Bishop Emeritus Edward Scharfenberger filed on Tuesday, both at least temporarily pausing the punitive damages part of the case, “Outrageous doesn’t perfectly capture my feelings on this subject,” Judge Vincent Versaci said in court on Tuesday of the bankruptcy filings.
4] The Laity Will Save the Church. Catholic 365. Lorrie McNickle. 07/14/2021
https://www.catholic365.com/article/12704/the-laity-will-save-the-church.html
5] Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley Recognizes 'Impact' of 'Spotlight'. Says film is important "for all impacted by the tragedy of clergy sexual abuse." By MICHAEL ROTHMAN. March 1, 2016, 12:32 PM ET
https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/cardinal-sean-patrick-omalley-recognizes-impact-spotlight/story?id=37309907
6] Senator Jim Tedisco Explains Latest Development in The St. Clare Pension Saga. His Email/newsletter titled: Tedisco Seeks New “Christmas Miracle” Appeal to the Pope for St. Clare’s Pensioners. Sent: 12-19-25
Senator Jim Tedisco (R,C-Ballston Lake) today announced a new approach to garner support to help make the more than 1,100 dedicated former St. Clare’s Hospital pensioners financially whole – a direct appeal to the head of the Catholic Church, American-born Pope Leo XIV.
Tedisco has sent a letter to Pope Leo XIV and newly installed Albany Catholic Diocese Bishop Mark O’Connell requesting the Vatican’s intervention to expedite payment to the struggling pensioners, many of whom have lost their homes and been forced to go back to work in what should be their golden years.
In 2018, the St. Clare’s Pension Board with little notice, notified the 1,100-plus pensioners that their retirement savings had suddenly collapsed, but as revealed in the recent Schenectady court case, we now know that’s not the case because it was cratering for years. Among the Pension Board members were the past two bishops of the Diocese: Bishop Edward Scharfenberger and the late Bishop Howard Hubbard.
Last week, a Schenectady court awarded the pensioners $54.2 million in damages after a jury found employees of the Albany Catholic Diocese, including Bishops Scharfenberger and Hubbard liable for breaches related to the hospital’s pension plan.
According to the Judge in the case, the Honorable Vincent Versace, the jury “did find the Diocese vicariously liable of the actions of their employees.” Since this verdict, in a cynical attempt to skirt financial responsibility and stall the court punitive portion of the case, Bishop Scharfenberger and another Board member have filed for bankruptcy.
“The jury has spoken and justice will not fully be served until the pensioners are made whole with the release of the $54.2 million that was awarded to them. It’s time to do the right thing and settle this once and for all, stop the delays and make these pensioners whole,” said Senator Tedisco.
