While this scandal does, indeed, demand explanation and justice, I have to wonder a few things about those who are now howling for justice, including some who are calling for the Pope to step down. First, these secularists and libertine Catholics who urged the sexual revolution of the 1960's and 1970's bring very little credibility to their position. It is these same people, who now place themselves in the position of protecting children, who have argued loudly and fervently for abortion. They sanction gay-pride parades that include the North American Man-Boy Love Association, a group that encourages sexual relationships between adults and children.
The moral authority of these people is nil. They hate Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular because the church is not afraid to state unequivocally that certain behaviors are wrong and sinful. We now witness the absurd and deplorable spectacle of a culture awash in depravity and never-ending exploitation of women and children lecturing the Vicar of Christ on moral issues.
In all of their reporting and search for the "truth" there has not been one mention of the same types of abuse that goes on in American public schools. Where is the outcry about the abuse of women in society who are paraded around in commercials, scantily clad, selling anything from women's lingerie to cars? Isn't this exploitation of women at its worst? Where were the women's groups protesting Bill Clinton's dalliances in the Oval Office of the White House?
While the bishops and priests involved in these scandals deserve to be brought to justice and imprisoned if fond guilty, it is also important that the media and other groups who somehow see nothing worthwhile regarding the Catholic Church begin acting as journalists and report such outrages with equal condemnation.
I am not sure whether there is a concerted effort on the part of the media and popular culture to attack the Catholic Church, but I do know that they have made every effort to place a cloud of doubt over the head of every Catholic priest. Many thousand of priests serve the Church and society for years with humility and dignity. Only a relatively few abuse children and these few should taste justice to its fullest extent. But please do not condemn the entire church and its most ardent and dedicated servants to the public perception that all of them, by virtue of their vocation is a threat to society.
During this Holy Week, we must pray for all involved and realize that it was for this very reason that our Savior accepted death on a cross in reparation for the reprehensible sins of humanity. We pray for peace and forgiveness as well as justice and healing in this terrible tragedy.
