The Scandal

I’m amazed at how many devout Catholics have had their faith shaken to the core because of the latest round of sex abuse scandals in the Church. Are they upset because their faith was based solely on what the Catholic clergy instructed them to believe and now many of their teachers, up to and including the Pope, are embroiled in this scandal? Most likely they held the clergy in such high esteem that the thought of sexual abuse and cover ups by the hierarchy is too much for them to bear. If this is the case then I can understand their frustration. It would be no different than having an adulterous parent preaching morality to his child while he lies and sins.

Why, I wonder, has this scandal not affected my faith? Is it because I never deified the clergy; I never placed them above all other men. While I do respect priests I don’t attribute to them qualities that make them superior to any other human male. I respect the fact that they have devoted their lives to teaching the Word of God but being able to preach the Word of god and being able to Live the Word of God are two very different things. I don’t believe that when a priest is ordained he is given any special powers to avoid sin. He is as vulnerable to sin as anyone else.

It would appear that some Bishops, Cardinals and even the Pope don’t share my views. Why else would they think that these abusers of children needed to be protected and their acts covered up. Why else would they think these criminals did not deserve the corporal punishment due them? Did they not realize that by protecting them they were bolstering the misconception that these men were Godlike and therefore untouchable? Did they not realize that by their actions they were not protecting the Catholic Church but helping to destroy it?

During my life I have known many priests; one has been a dear friend for years. Some give Christianity a bad name while others are compassionate and loving. It is this later group that my heart goes out to. They are suffering much for the sins of their brethren. Their lives have been tarnished by the actions of their leaders.

Since my book was published conservative Catholics have labeled me a Cafeteria Catholic;“ - a term our latest Pope likes to use to describe those who don’t buy into everything. The most devout Catholics have even referred to me as a heretic. I have been scolded and told that “One must believe everything handed down to us through the clergy in order to be called a Catholic.” There is no room among the faithful for anyone who concludes anything that differs from the teachings of the Church. Obviously I don’t agree with that.

For example, my suggestions that ordaining women priests and putting an end to celibacy as a way of revitalizing the Church is ridiculed because it conflicts with Church teachings. Still, when one examines the pros and cons of those suggestions it becomes obvious that the pros far outweigh the cons.

I can’t help but ask myself why the Church continuously tries to justify through debatable biblical references that maintaining a tight knit closed community of unmarried men with all its problems is a good thing? What can possibly be gained by continuing down this path for the next one hundred years. Does the hierarchy really believe that this is what Jesus wants?

Book Review

I finished your book about 2 hours ago and I want you to know that it is excellent! This actually is a practical philosophy book I could identify with almost every single passage in the book. It is important to pass on your wisdom (and this type of wisdom) to the next generation. We developed our own personal philosophies because of growing up around extended families who taught by example, and I might add loved by example. I grew up on the city streets of Pittsburgh, and I thought everyone was Italian and Catholic until I went to college! We moved to the suburbs in 1960 and I learned that there were all different types of people. My first ten years in the Italian enclave were the happiest years of my life.