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Why is it Bishop Earl Fernandes cannot speak the truth? In the May 28 edition of the Dispatch, he again denied that he forced the Paulist priests to leave the Newman Center last year and repeated the fiction they “chose to leave.”

The Paulists left because Fernandes would allow them to stay—just two, not all four priests—only if they agreed to be relegated to the status of chaplain and report to his new executive director. They could preach and hear confessions, but performing weddings and funerals would require permission.

It was like being put on double-secret probation. “You can stay, but you’ll be under my thumb.”

Beyond his aversion to the truth, Fernandes is blind to the reality about him. For years, the Catholic Church has been losing members and has failed to recruit enough priests. Fernandes sees the need to close 15 of his churches as “an adventure.” Memo to Bishop Fernandes: your ship is taking on water. This is an emergency and time to re-think everything.

We shouldn’t be surprised the church is struggling. In the podcast, Catholic in America,  three priests discuss why Catholics are leaving the church: abuse scandals, loss of connection and not being fed spiritually, the church’s harsh attitude on the LGBTQ community and divorce. No news flash here.

Add to the list a militant anti-abortion stance, condemnation of contraception, and a refusal to ordain women.

Sadly, it doesn’t pay to be open-minded in the Catholic Church. Even Pope Francis gets criticized for his progressive view of the LGBTQ community and the divorced. Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, stated, “I believe Pope Francis is the Pope but it is time for me to say that I reject his program of undermining the Deposit of Faith,” that is, the body of truth entrusted by Jesus to the Apostles to be proclaimed. A fringe group of priests assert Francis is a heretic.

I guess somebody has to tell the Pope he’s got it all wrong.

Other bishops are equally out of touch. Bishop Robert Barron of Rochester, Minn., criticized President Joe Biden’s stance on abortion, saying, “What he’s doing is repugnant.” Bishop José Gomez of Los Angeles believes Biden should be denied Communion because of his pro-choice stance.

Does anybody remember Barron or Gomez criticizing Donald Trump for his degrading statements about immigrants and women or his prolific lying? Apparently, Trump gets a pass because he’s aligned with the church’s anti-abortion stance.

How did the church get here?

It starts with a hierarchy insulated from everyday life. According to the National Catholic Reporter, the average bishop is a non-Hispanic white 65-year-old, who graduated from a Catholic high school, went to college seminary, earned a graduate degree in theology, and then served as an associate pastor and then pastor.

Think about this. A bishop has never had to rent an apartment, apply for a job or deal with a job loss, buy groceries, pay utility bills, worry about not having enough money to survive, suffer the heartbreak of divorce, deal with the anxiety that comes with being alone, unemployed and pregnant, or face the challenges that come when a son discloses he is gay.

Despite this minimal life experience, these men develop an outsize confidence, if not arrogance, in telling others how to handle life’s toughest issues. They forget they’re just like the rest of us—mere mortals susceptible to error.

Should we be surprised by the attitudes of men like Fernandes, Strickland, Barron and Gomez?

But the church hierarchy does excel at one thing: losing people. Pew Research reports there are 6.5 former Catholics in the U.S. for every Catholic convert. “No other religious group analyzed in the 2014 Religious Landscape Study has experienced anything close to this ratio of losses for gain via religious switching.”

And, yes, I’m a cradle Catholic.

[This post was published as an op-ed in The Columbus Dispatch on June 11, 2023.]