The reason that I lay part of the blame on the Vatican is that the church is controlled entirely from the top down. Therefore, the ‘buck stops there’ when it comes to assessing fault for tolerating pro-choice Catholic politicos. Without the backing of the Vatican, no American cardinal would dare take on the Kennedys for their pro-choice policies. Once the laity saw that famous Catholic politicos like Ted K. were not held to account for their apostacy, it told every other Catholic dem that they could be pro-choice and get away with it.
But it's not greed for money.
No. The pope is first among equals. He appoints and can ask for resignations, but he really cannot control the bishops unless he's got a really strong personality. The major problems all were put into place by the Paul VI group and there is a whole conspiracy theory on that that may well be true.
Without the backing of the Vatican, no American cardinal would dare take on the Kennedys for their pro-choice policies.
The Kennedys aren't the only family, but there's more to it than simple politics. Wealthy people spend a lot of time and money ingratiating themselves with the hierarchy. The other thing to remember is that the wealthy are a big source of funding for big projects like hospitals and new gyms. You don't want to tick them off too badly. Not saying this is right, but the way it is. This is how a lot of cathedrals were built including St. Peter's. Little known fact, but modern fundraising is a Catholic invention.
Once the laity saw that famous Catholic politicos like Ted K. were not held to account for their apostacy, it told every other Catholic dem that they could be pro-choice and get away with it.
This one I won't argue with, but it doesn't stop there. This is the most visible and objectionable, but there's any number of other sinful and apostate things going on that are ignored.
One thing about being Catholic you have to remember: we trust God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit to keep the barque aright. The church in the flesh has different faces all the time and every generation has had some of the same problems - rich apostates trying to buy their way to Heaven among them. At heart, Catholicism is very individual and you really have to concentrate more on yourself and pray for those who put themselves outside of God. It's been that way since the Last Supper when Judas left early.