Posted on 04/22/2002 5:36:05 PM PDT by Luis Gonzalez
My mother must be in the Roman Catholic Hall of Fame. For seven decades, she has been a loyal member of the Church. We are talking daily Mass, the rosary, the whole deal. My mom is a true believer, with a direct pipeline to God. If you need a favor, my mother is the one you should have praying for you.
So it is interesting to watch my mother following the priest scandal. Her group in the "Catholic Golden Age" club is generally appalled and confused. Their faith has not been shaken, but their confidence in the men running the church has been.
My mother is also in a difficult position because her only son has been leading the media charge in demanding that cardinals who allowed pedophile priests to roam be forced to resign.
The pastor of my mother's church stopped her after Mass and suggested that I should give equal time to "good" priests. My mother didn't quite know how to answer that, so she smiled and relayed the message to me. I then asked her, "Mom, does that mean when Republicans or Democrats do bad things, I have to have good ones on to balance?" She said she didn't know, and would I like another tuna sandwich?
According to a poll taken by Quinnipiac University, 70 percent of American Catholics want any high-ranking cleric that enabled child abuse to occur to resign. And get this: Only 46 percent of those polled have a favorable opinion of their parish priest, although 90 percent would trust him around children.
What this poll says is that American Catholic priests are failing in their jobs. And I know the reason why.
First, my credentials. Altar boy for 10 years. Sixteen years of Catholic education. Many, many sins and encounters with frowning priests in the confessional. I still go to Mass every Sunday.
My experience has taught me that many priests are extremely interested in themselves and their power -- a lot like most other human beings. The reason Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston will not resign in the face of overwhelming evidence that he aided and abetted gross crimes against children is that the man wants to keep his red hat. He likes the power and justifies his refusal to do penance by saying the best way to serve his church is to keep his power.
Of course, that's absurd. There's no way on this earth that Law can ever regain his moral authority. Perhaps in heaven.
I once taught at a Catholic high school in Florida, and the principal was a priest that ran around with teen-age boys all the time. Everybody knew something was strange, but the guy let it be known that he was shepherding troubled youths. Maybe he was. But this priest was so power mad and arrogant that he turned my stomach, and I left the teaching profession. He waved goodbye to me from the front seat of his brand new Lincoln Continental.
The thing is that many Catholics, including me, have had bad experiences with priests, but there is no higher court. The priest can pretty much do what he wants. As we now know, even criminal priests are sometimes protected because the bishops do not want public scandal in their dioceses.
My analysis of the priest situation has brought fear and loathing from some Catholics who don't like my tone. Some guy from Nevada sent me an email, saying, "Bill, you've gone berserk in your criticism of the Church." A man from Florida wrote: "Do you really think Cardinal Law knew what those priests were doing? You are just trying to get ratings, O'Reilly."
But most American Catholics understand what has happened and cannot defend it. My mother and her friends are watching closely to see if the pope, whom they love, will do anything. I told my mother not to get her hopes up.
There is a siege mentality in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. The elderly men who run things see an immoral world bent on destroying their institution. They see the forces of liberalism trying to tear down tradition. They see barbarians at the gate.
But the truth is that the true enemies of the church are already inside the fortress. They have damaged the walls of faith, hope and charity, and they are still operating.
If ever there were a time for an exorcism ...
It would be an especially good idea to "hit him up" on his canonization day, June 16.
I had a co-worker who had stage four non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. I asked Padre Pio on his beatification day to ask the Lord to cure him. His doctor now refers to him as his "little miracle," and his case was written up in a medical journal.
Padre Pio stikes again!
Your thread is very civilized considering the issue. I, on the other hand, unknowingly started a small religious war over here: We the Priests in order to form a more perfect union...".
Religion should be taken seriously and it should be more than a lifestyle choice. There are some people who blame the vow of celibacy as the cause of the sexual abuse of children. This is not factual. A vow of celibacy may be difficult, since the sexual drive is non-trivial. However, men are not animals. Only those trapped in their immature behavior think that such a vow is an unnatural repression of tremendous energies. Ending the vow of celibacy will not deter homosexuality and pederasty. A man who has demonstrated grave perversity shouldn't be a priest. The priesthood is not a right and it's not subject to government laws. Priesthood is a vocation from God and an office conferred by the Church. Christ gave the apostles the power to bind and unbind -- hence the power of the Church to make law; and the Church, based on tradition and Scripture, may determine who may be a priest. The Church has consistently condemned homosexual behavior, so it is only logical that the Church should agree to enforce a zero- tolerance policy and expel priests found guilty of such abuse.
Just had to print your most excellent text again.
1) The idea that self-control among men is paramount in this issue (as well as in any other area of life), and
2) The concept of the priesthood as a vocation instead of a career.
Self-control among priests is paramount because a priest who has taken a vow of celibacy can't possibly be a good priest if he engages in any sexual behavior. Jesus Christ appoints certain men to renew in his name the sacrifice of our redemption and to share his sacred ministry by the laying on of hands. The Lord calls them to lead God's holy people in love, nourish them by His word, and strengthen them through the sacraments giving them the dignity of royal priesthood to the people he made His own with a brother's love.
Regarding priesthood as a vocation instead of a career, it is because the main goal of the Church is to be a servant to the poor, the needy, the oppressed, and the voiceless. The priest is called to serve God and the Church. Priests vow themselves to live in poverty, chastity and obedience. And it is these same vows of poverty, chastity and obedience which are in stark contrast to the materialism and consumerism, the hedonism so prevalent and the self-willfulness that is so characteristic of our society. It is this simplicity, self-control, and God's will rather than one's own that challenges the priorities of a secular, self-centered and materialistic society. These vows are a prerequisite to be converted to Jesus Christ and His Gospel. The Church would no longer be recognizable as the Church without these gifts from God. This is why these vows must be fostered.
Linguistic literalists who incorrectly interpret brother, sister, brethren, until, firstborn and who do not understand Aramaic add to Scripture by saying Mary had other children. If you would like more information along with additional Biblical proof that Jesus was Marys' only child, please let me know.
;-)
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