The Stain Of Sin

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I’m kind of fumbling for words at the moment, believe it or not. I had a feeling this was coming, but it’s still a shock.

I saw one name I recognized in this story, though this person is not accused of any wrongdoing.

As far as I am concerned (as well as a great many others), what these priests are accused of doing constitutes a crime that should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and if found guilty, they should be sentenced to hard time (and good luck in the joint if you get sent up for that – remember John Geoghan?).

Another thing – to me, none of this is attributable to homosexual behavior. This is a disgusting, sick perversion of a hetero instinct. If all of the accused priests were gay, they would merely date each other and that would be the end of it.

I don’t see how we need any further reason to not eliminate the celibacy requirement for the priesthood at this point and let priests marry (as well as ordaining women). However, we are talking about the Roman Catholic Church, which is the oldest bureaucracy in the world. The celibacy requirement is, after all, tied to the Church’s ownership of any property accrued by the priest over the time of his ministry. I know St. Paul said something that could be interpreted as justification for celibacy, but, in my readings of the gospels, I’ve never read anything from Our Lord about it.

Also, I’ve hammered Lynne Abraham in the past, but she’s dead-on correct on this one. How convenient for the Church that it hushed up the problem for so long that the accused priests can now escape prosecution since the statute of limitations on the crime has expired. I would expect such legal maneuvering from Nicky Scarfo or John Gotti, not the Catholic Church.

And what is the reaction from “my shepherd,” metaphorically speaking? To issue some carefully worded apology and send out their pit bull of an attorney, William R. Sasso, to attack everyone in sight.

At this point, should anyone seriously wonder why attendance at Church on Sunday and collections are down?

This is just awful all the way around. All we can do is pray for healing and forgiveness, if it is possible somehow, and try to lend support any way we can. Some understanding and change on the part of my church would help also, but regarding the change part, I’m honestly not holding my breath.