The cause of the Church's current crisis is not the perverse sexual proclivities of a few wayward priests.

Neither is it the shameful handling of sexual abuse cases by bishops - some naïve, some inept and some corrupt.

The true cause of "the situation" is found in the culture of dissent and the abandonment of Church teaching on sexuality begun with the failure of Church leadership to defend and promote Pope Paul VI's 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae.

Nobody articulates this enlightened point of view more cogently than George Weigel. In his latest book, The Courage to be Catholic, he reviews some of the key historical moments that mark the victory of the culture of dissent in the Church. Particularly disturbing is the report of the treatment of Cardinal Patrick O'Boyle of Washington, D.C., who in the late 1960s disciplined many of his priests who openly dissented from Humanae Vitae. When an appeal was made to Rome, Rome forced him to reinstate the priests. Weigel persuasively argues that U.S. prelates got the message that they were not to discipline dissenters.

Weigel has a name for what the dissenters have been selling and what the bishops have been tolerating, if not promoting, and what seminarians and the laity have been imbibing. "Catholic lite," he calls it. It is a clever moniker and captures something of what has gone on - but I fear that the label is too innocuous. Catholic lite is not simply a bland, unexciting and nonnutritious version of the Catholic faith. It is, in fact, toxic and carcinogenic. Dissent from Humanae Vitae led people to think that sex just for pleasure - sex without respect for the procreative meaning of sexuality - is moral. If heterosexuals can have sex just for pleasure, what's wrong with homosexual sex or masturbation? And if one isn't risking having babies, what's wrong with sex outside of marriage? Sometimes logical consequences become real-life consequences.

In deciding to treat the current crisis as one of policy - as one of the proper treatment of sexual-abuse charges - the bishops are in danger of treating a cancer that has already seriously metastasized through the body of the Church as nothing more than an ugly boil that needs to be lanced. The Vatican discerned one pocket of the cancer: poor formation in seminaries.

The cancer of dissent, of individuals in places of influence and power who do not accept Church teaching is, however, rampant in Catholic educational institutions and hospitals. It's also present in chancery offices. The majority of Catholics contracept and seem not to know about the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, to cite just two examples of woeful disconnect between Catholics and their Church. In the sphere of Catholic education, it is fairly clear that Ex Corde Ecclesiae's mandatum will not be an effective vehicle for ensuring that Catholic professors teach Catholic doctrine. Perhaps bishops could resort to the personal touch and meet with presidents and boards of Catholic colleges and universities, and impress upon them how important it is that those who study at their institutions will be learning the fullness of Catholic truth and not being initiated into the culture of dissent.

Weigel offers good advice for many areas of the Church needing reform - from selection of bishops to the relationship of bishops to their priests to living situations for priests and more. Were the bishops to take his advice, we would have a much-improved Church. He recommends that the bishops yearly ask every priest a set of questions about their spiritual life and their personal life, such as: "Do you sleep alone?" and "Do you make use of pornography?" The need for this kind of direct confrontation with priests should not be underestimated. No matter what policies are put in place, one-on-one work with priests is essential to restoring the priesthood.

Precise numbers are not there for the crunching, but it is more than a little likely that some dioceses and orders have significant numbers of active homosexuals in their midst. These men were likely not taught how to achieve chastity during their formation and may well have been affirmed, if not encouraged, in their homosexuality in the seminary. Homosexuals often lead a double life. They become accustomed to pretense and many of those skilled at pretense rise easily in organizations. It is not implausible that some of those highly placed in the Church - vocations directors, rectors and even some bishops - are, or have been, active homosexuals. How often must it be the case that bishops are not getting good information about sexual abuse by priests because their vicar general or secretary is protecting fellow homosexuals?

Since there is a growing unwillingness to tolerate the presence of the unchaste in the priesthood, priests struggling with or indulging homosexual tendencies are likely now very stressed and more likely than ever to take refuge in homosexual support groups. Many priests and lay people know of, and are demoralized by, their knowledge of active homosexuality among priests. Bishops and superiors simply must find a way to minister to them for their own sake and for the rest of the Church, especially for the sake of their faithful priests and those considering the priesthood.

Weigel's book is a virtual crash course for those interested in contributing to these efforts. Those who want a more comprehensive unraveling of the tale might want to review James Hitchcock's The Decline and Fall of Radical Catholicism (1972), George Kelly's Battle for the American Church (1979; revised 1995), Ralph Martin's Crisis of Truth (1982), Anne Muggeridge's The Desolate City (1986), Dietrich Von Hildebrand's Trojan Horse in the City of God (1970; revised 1993) or, more recently, Ralph McInerny's What Went Wrong with Vatican II (1998). Prophets have been among us for some time, but they have been ignored.

Perhaps scandal and financial devastation will do what these respectful exposés could not.

We should not doubt that out of these dark times the Holy Spirit can call forth from the bishops the toughness, courage, love and holiness needed to do the job. We lay people, by our prayers and sacrifices, should strive to win graces for them as they embark upon this necessary reformation.

I understand that all bishops will be getting a copy of Weigel's book. Priests, religious and lay people should get their own copies so they can discuss the issues intelligently - maybe even with a bishop.