As I'm sure you already know, the pope called the American cardinals to Rome for a meeting last year on the current sexual abuse scandal. Frankly, no one is sure what specific points they discussed, though we all hope that some kind of progress was made.

This is a truly dark time for the American Church -- surely its lowest point in history. Orthodox laypeople need to step forward now and help repair the damage done by some of our shepherds.

With that in mind, I want to suggest 8 discussion points for the Bishops to consider now that the meetings are over. This isn't exhaustive, and if you think of additional points, please email me. Also, I know that some of these points are controversial (not even my wife agrees with me on all of them).

Nevertheless, this is a crisis for the Church, and needs to be treated as such.

Let me know what you think.

The 8 Points Rome Needs To Consider Are:

1. The root cause of the present crisis in the Church is the presence of active homosexuals in the seminaries and rectories. For decades, certain bishops and their administrators have allowed an active gay subculture to flourish in the American priesthood. It's time to do something about that.

2. Active homosexuals ought to be banned from the seminary and removed from the priesthood. This may be painful, but it's absolutely necessary -- not only because they've chosen to violate their vows of celibacy, but for prudential reasons: Homosexual men are 3 times more likely to abuse minors than their heterosexual counterparts. If we're really serious about protecting our kids, we just can't take that kind of a risk.

3. A bishop's first response to the news that a priest has sexually abused a minor shouldn't be administrative or "therapeutic." It ought to be spiritual and moral. He's a shepherd. His job is to keep wolves out of the sheepfold. He's dealing with a scandalous betrayal of priestly vows -- a betrayal that puts souls in jeopardy. Any bishop who can't understand this is unfit for the office.

4. In some cases, the local bishop has been so shamefully negligent that the only meaningful form of apology is resignation. Sexual predators have been moved from parish to parish, their crimes covered up and the families of victims bullied or bought into silence. The solution isn't just instituting new procedures but installing bishops who understand the responsibilities of their office.

5. At what point should a sexually predatory priest be defrocked? Isn't sex with a minor serious enough to institute a "one strike and you're out" policy? And if a priest has committed a criminal act, shouldn't he be turned over to the civil authority?

6. One of the most important duties of a bishop is to run a good seminary which will attract devout and intelligent young men and give them sound formation for the priesthood. It's no secret that many American seminaries have turned into "pink palaces" where heterosexual men are unwelcome. Are some seminaries so corrupt that they ought to be closed down? Or transferred over to orthodox orders? Should seminary education in the United States be monitored by a central authority for a period?

7. The current scandals clearly demonstrate the failure of the "therapeutic culture" which has invaded the Church. For decades, many Church administrators thought that the way to deal with sexual predators among the clergy was to rely on "experts" in the psychiatric profession. Unfortunately, these same "experts" were quick to label their patients as normal and harmless after a few months of counseling. While therapies may have their place in some cases, the basic problem is moral and spiritual. No counselor is going to cure that.

8. This crisis presents an enormous opportunity for legitimate reform and renewal within the Church. Orthodox Catholics should finally pay attention to the documents of Vatican II, which are an antidote to the stranglehold of clericalism in the American church. Frankly, in too many dioceses, there's a closed and arrogant clerical culture, which ignores the many orthodox laypeople who have real expertise in areas like management and organization. I'm not calling for the "clericalization" of the laity or agitating for the liberal agenda of Church dissenters. All I'm saying is that the hierarchy needs to grow out of the old ways of doing things, which often involves protecting disgraced priests and ignoring the legitimate needs of the laity.