Fr. Austin at Concord Pastor has today (Palm Sunday) posted a valuable and timely update on the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church saving me and others some time searching for and updating recent commentaries in a balanced way.
I get the feeling that a lot of Catholic bloggers are finding themselves like sheep caught between a proverbial rock and a hard place in terms of whether to write at all, what the heck to write and how to keep going in faith in spite of it all!!
Like Fr. Austin and others I feel pretty overwhelmed by the media reports and it is increasingly difficult to sort the "wheat from the chaff ".
Here is the link for to the post today at Concord Pastor entitled Does This Story Have an End ?
Thanks Fr. Austin !!
Image below is Pope Benedict's Coat of Arms and here is a link to the meaning of the symbols. Interesting ?
3 comments:
Phil,
I do not remember Fr. Doyle in the 80s warning bishops of sexual crimes in the Catholic Church.
For me it all started in 2002 in Boston. It slowly came out and then every day there were more and more sickening revelations. Not only about sick priests molesting children, but about the hierarchy protecting those priests rather than the children and then transferring those priests to other parishes without warning them.
Then more came out. In the Oregon province. In Los Angeles, oh, dear Godde. In various cities of the US. Now it's in Ireland, in Germany. Undoubtedly, it is everywhere. A small minority of very weak men who cannot control their sexual urges harming a vast number of children who in some cases will end up committing suicide.
I feel infinitely sorry for the children. I feel terribly sad for the priests ('good' and not), but I feel a holy anger toward the hierarchy.
This anger may be fanned by my feminist resentment toward the way our male hierarchy has been treating women for centuries.
But I feel appalled by some of the platitudes I read written by both lay and clergy. Like a refusal to look at the beast in the face.
As expressed on a blog you recommended, I have written in the past about these scandals. But these blogs, as far as I can see, lead nowhere. The only people who read them are those who agree.
So frankly at this point, I just have to turn to Godde and say, The Judgment is Yours.
I long for a breath of fresh air in my Church, a voice of purity and honesty, a voice of truth and of healing.
Hi Claire,
I know we share the same hearfelt longings for change in our church and I agree with all you say.
I am appalled at some of the complacency of others in my own church and I do feel sorry for some "good " priests who must be feeling dejected by the howling masses !!
It is only through you and others that I feel held up and the vital threads of these blogsand comments help my resolve. So thank you so much and please help me to keep going !!
Holy Week . Ah so much to ponder and so much to change !! God Help Us.
Phil, do keep going! You're doing a fabulous job!
(((((((((Phil))))))
xoxoxo
Post a Comment