Church guide

Follow us on Twitter!

Please donate to our cause here: https://www.gofundme.com/better-church-governance

About Us: Better Church Governance (BCG) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit. We are an independent watchdog, newly formed to hold the hierarchy of the Catholic Church accountable for abuse and corruption, and to develop and support honesty, clarity, and fidelity in Church governance. Cardinals have commented that accurately knowing the backgrounds of the other cardinals is the most precarious part of each papal conclave. The mission of our flagship project, The Red Hat Report, is to change this by researching and publicizing full dossiers on each cardinal—their responses to abuse, their patronage and financial ties, and theological and pastoral priorities. We think of it as the Catholic equivalent to the Federalist Society's research on Supreme Court nominees. But our work is distinct from either a governmental or ecclesial review. We are motivated by our sense of duty and love for the Church precisely as lay people and want to offer our professional skills in support of our priests and leaders. We are not a faction or a lobbyist group. We, the laity, are the body of the Church, and it is as the hands and feet of the hierarchy that we must pray, sacrifice, and act. We must “watch the watchmen,” but as helpers not enemies. There are many holy and honorable men within the episcopacy. Our job is to empower them – and to prove to the world that they are there. We thus provide reformers with the information they need to act. The Church and its structure are divinely constructed; thus, we want to encourage each member, starting with ourselves, to do its part and cooperate with the grace of God. What are we doing? We will create The Red Hat Report before the next papal conclave. This report provides a brief introductory dossier for each cardinal, noting their handling of abuse and corruption, both sexual and fiscal, and their theological and pastoral priorities. We will then classify the level of evidence for abuse/corruption for each cardinal-elector, based on scores from a variety of categories considered. Such a score promotes a clearer understanding of their record of governance and fidelity. Lastly, BCG will publish a book and website with a summation of evidence of each cardinal’s connection to scandal and abuse for one-stop access for all the cardinals responsible for selecting the next Holy Father.