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This document was written several years ago. Its author, Fr Roger J. Landry was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Fall River, MA, by Bishop Sean O'Malley, OFM Cap., In 1999. After obtaining a degree in biology from Harvard University, Fr Landry made his study
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The recorded eight columns last week she took it the patriotic parade Super Bowl and who would quarterback, Drew or Tom, or in the President's speech to the State of the Union and his comment that there are many operational Al-Qaeda in the United States are real "time bombs" . None of this was the top story.
headers were captured for the very sad news that perhaps seventy priests in the Archdiocese of Boston abused young people who were dedicated to serve. It is a scandal, one that many people who have long disliked the Church because of some of their moral and doctrinal teachings are using as a pretext to attack the Church as a whole, trying to imply that after all they were right.
Many people have approached me to talk about it. Many others had wanted to, but I think out of respect and not wanting to bring up what they see as bad news, abstained, but for me it was obvious he was in his mind. And so, today, I want to tackle the issue head on. You are entitled to it. We can not pretend as if nothing had happened. And I would like to discuss what should be our response as Catholics to this terrible scandal.
The first thing you need is to understand in light of our faith in the Lord. Before choosing his first disciples, Jesus went up the mountain to pray all night. At that time he had many followers. He spoke to His Father in prayer about who they choose to be his twelve apostles, the twelve that he would form intimately, who sent the twelve to preach the Good News in His name. He gave them power to cast out demons. He gave them power to heal the sick. They saw how Jesus performed countless miracles. They themselves many miracles in His name.
But despite all, one of them was a traitor. One, who had followed the Lord, one whom the Lord washed the feet, which saw him walk on water, raise people from the dead and forgive sinners, betrayed the Lord. The Gospel tells us that he allowed Satan to enter into it and then sold the Lord for thirty pieces of Gethsemane, simulating an act of love for delivery. "Judas!" did Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, "with a kiss betray the Son of man" Jesus chose Judas to betray him. He chose to be like everyone else. But Judas was always free and used his freedom to allow Satan to enter into him, and his betrayal, ended up doing that Jesus was crucified and executed.
So from the first twelve that Jesus himself chose, one was a terrible traitor. SOMETIMES GOD'S CHOSEN BETRAY. This is a fact that we assume. It is a fact that the first Church assumed. If the scandal caused by Judas would have been the only thing that members of the early Church had focused, the Church would have been finished before starting to grow. Instead, the Church recognized that not judge something by those who do not live, but for those who do live.
Instead of focusing on one who betrayed Jesus, focused in the other eleven, to whose work, preaching, miracles and love for Christ, we are here today. It is thanks to the eleven-all of which, except St. John, were martyred for Christ and the Gospel, by which they were willing to give their lives to proclaim "that we got to hear the saving word of God, we receive sacraments of eternal life.
Today we are confronted by the same reality. We can focus on those who betrayed the Lord, those who abused instead of loving who were called to serve, or, as the early Church, we can focus on others, which have remained faithful, those priests who are offering their lives to serve Christ and to serve you for love. The media almost never pay attention to good "once" , those whom Jesus chose and remained faithful, who lived a life of quiet holiness. But we, the Church, we see the terrible scandal that we've witnessed a true and full perspective.
Scandal is unfortunately nothing new for the Church. There were many times in its history, when it was worse than now. The history of the Church is like the mathematical definition of cosine, ie a curve oscillating pendulum movements, with high and low throughout the centuries. In each of those times when the Church reached its lowest point, God raised tremendous saints to bring the Church back to its true mission. It's almost as if in those moments of darkness, the Light of Christ shine more brightly. I would like to focus a bit in a couple of saints whom God raised up in these difficult times, because their wisdom can really guide us through this difficult time.
San Francisco de Sales was a saint to whom God raised just after the Protestant Reformation. The Protestant Reformation did not flowed mainly theological, for matters of faith, although theological differences, but appeared after moral aspects.
was an Augustinian priest, Martin Luther, who came to Rome during the papacy's most notorious history, that of Pope Alexander VI. The pope never taught anything against faith-the Holy Spirit prevented that-but it was just an evil man. He had nine children from six different concubines. Actions carried out against those he considered his enemies. Martin Luther visited Rome during his papacy and wondered how God could allow such a wicked man outside the visible head of His Church. He returned to Germany and watch all kinds of moral problems.
The priests lived openly relationships with women. Some tried to profit by selling spiritual goods. Deprive a terrible immorality among lay Catholics. He was shocked, as would have happened to anyone who loved God, by such rampant abuse. So he founded his own church.
Eventually God raised up many saints that they fight the wrong solution and bring back people to the Church founded by Christ. San Francisco de Sales was one of them. Risking his life, visited Switzerland, where the Calvinists were very popular, preaching the gospel in truth and love. Many times he was beaten on his way and left for dead. One day I was asked for his position in relation to the scandal that caused so many of their brother priests. What he said is as important to us today as it was back then for those who listen. He did not mince words.
said: "Those who commit these types of scandals are guilty of spiritual equivalent of murder, destroying other people's faith in God by their terrible example" . Pero al mismo tiempo advirtió a sus oyentes: “Pero yo estoy aquí entre ustedes hoy para evitarles un mal aún peor. Mientras que aquellos que causan el escándalo son culpables de asesinato espiritual, los que acogen el escándalo —los que permiten que los escándalos destruyan su fe— son culpables de suicidio espiritual. Son culpables, dijo él, de cortar de tajo su vida con Cristo, abandonando la fuente de vida en los Sacramentos, especialmente la Eucaristía” . San Francisco de Sales anduvo entre la gente de Suiza tratando de prevenir que cometieran un suicidio espiritual a causa de los escándalos. Y yo estoy aquí hoy para you preach the same thing.
What should our reaction be then? Another great saint who lived in times of particular hardship can also help. The great St. Francis of Assisi lived around 1200, which was a time of terrible immorality in central Italy. Priests were setting horrible examples. The Lay immorality was worse. San Francisco itself, being young, had offended others with his carefree ways. But eventually turned to the Lord, founded the Franciscans, helped God rebuild his Church and became one of the greatest saints of all time.
Once one of the brothers of the Order of Friars Minor asked a question. The brother was very sensitive to scandals. "Brother Francisco , he said, what would you do if you knew that the priest is celebrating Mass had three concubines on the side?" Francisco without missing a beat, she said slowly: "When it came time for Holy Communion, would receive the Sacred Body of my Lord's anointed hands of the priest" .
Where Francisco wanted to reach? He wanted to leave a tremendous truth of faith and an extraordinary gift of the Lord. No matter how sinful a priest, if you intend to do what the Church at Mass, for example, to change bread and wine into flesh and blood of Christ, or the confession, without matter how sinful he is personally, to forgive the sins of the penitent, Christ himself acts in the sacraments through the minister.
Whether Pope John Paul II celebrate Mass or a priest sentenced to death for a crime celebrate Mass in both cases is Christ himself who acts and gives us His body and His blood. So what Francis was saying in response to the question of his religious brother to show him that he would receive the Sacred Body of Your Lord of the priest's anointed hands, it would not allow evil or immorality of the priest carried spiritual suicide.
Christ can still work and does work even through the most sinful priest. And thank God it does! For if ever we had to rely on the priest's personal holiness, we would be in big trouble. Priests are chosen by God from among men and are tempted like any human being and fall into sin as any human being. But God knew from the beginning. Eleven of the first twelve apostles scattered when Christ was arrested, but they returned, one of the twelve betrayed the Lord and sadly never returned. God has made the sacraments essentially proof "priests" , that is, in terms of personal holiness. No matter how holy they are, or how evil, if they intend to do what the Church, then Christ himself, as he acted through Judas when Judas cast out demons and healed the sick.
So again I ask: What should be the Church's response to these acts? Much has been said about the media. Does the Church to work better, making sure no one with a predisposition toward pedophilia gets ordained? Absolutely. But this is not enough.
Does the Church have to do better for handling cases when they are reported? The Church has changed its way of handling these cases and today the situation is much better than it was in the eighties, but it can always be perfected. But even this would not be enough. Do we have to do more to support victims of such abuse? Yes, we do, both out of justice and love! But even this is appropriate. Cardinal Law has made the most of the deans of medical schools in Boston to work on establishing a center for the prevention of child abuse, which is something we all should support. But even this is not a sufficient response.
The only appropriate response to this terrible scandal, the only truly Catholic response to this scandal, like St. Francis of Assisi recognized in 1200 as San Francisco de Sales recognized in 1600 and countless other saints have recognized in every century, is the POPE! Every crisis that the Church faces, every crisis that the world faces a crisis of holiness! Holiness is crucial, because it is the true face of the Church.
There are always people, a priest meets them regularly, you probably know several of them also-to use excuses for why do not practice their faith because they are slowly committing spiritual suicide. May be because a nun was mean to them when they were 9 years old. Or they do not understand the teachings of the Church on a particular issue. There will undoubtedly be many people these days, and you will probably find them-they will say: "What do faith, why go to church if the church can not be true, when the so-called chosen ones can do the kind of things we've been reading? " This scandal is a huge hanger where some try to hang their justification for not practicing the faith. That's why holiness is so important.
They need to find in us a reason to have faith, a reason for hope, a reason to respond with love to love the Lord. The Beatitudes in the Gospel we read today is a recipe for sainthood. We all need to live them more. Do they have to be more holy priests? Sure. Do they have to be more holy men and women religious and to bear witness even more of God and heaven? Absolutely. But everyone in the Church do, including the laity! We all have the vocation to be holy and this crisis is a wake-up call.
These are hard times to be a priest today. These are hard times for Catholics today. But also a great time to be a priest and a great time to be a Catholic today. Jesus says in the Beatitudes that we hear today: "Blessed be when they insult you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you " .
I have experienced first hand is bliss, like other priests I know. Earlier this week, when I finished working out at a local gym, I went out of the closet with my black suit cleric. A mother, I just saw, immediately and hastily withdraw their children the way and protected me as I passed. I looked when I passed and when I had gone far enough, was relieved and released to their children. As if I were to attack the middle of the afternoon at a sports club!
But while we all may have to suffer such insults and falsehoods for the sake of Christ, in fact we should rejoice. It is a fantastic time to be Christians today, because it is a time that God really needs us to show his true face. In times past in the U.S., the Church was respected. Priests were respected. The Church had reputation of holiness and goodness. But not anymore.
One of the greatest preachers in American history, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen used to say that he preferred to live in times when the Church is in flowering time when the Church had to struggle, when the Church has to go against the culture. Those times for real men and real women go one step forward and be counted. "So the bodies can float downstream" , used to say, noting that many people come out easily when the Church is respected, "but need of real men, real women, to swim against the tide " .
How true this is! It takes a real man and a real woman to stay afloat and swim against the current moves in opposition to the Church. It takes a real man and a real woman to recognize that when you swim against the tide of criticism, we are safer than when we are attached to the rock on which Christ founded his Church. This is one of those times. It is one of the great moments to be Christian.
Some people predict that this region the Church will go hard times and may be so, but the Church will survive, because the Lord will make sure it survives. One of the largest aftershocks in the story happened exactly 200 years ago. The French emperor Napoleon with his army engulfed the countries of Europe with the ultimate intention of totally dominating the world. At that time, once said Cardinal Consalvi: "I will destroy your Church" ("Je detruirai votre eglise!") Cardinal answered: "No, you can not" . Napoleon, their 1.50 high, said again: "Je detruirai votre eglise!" Cardinal said trust: "No, you can not. Even we have been able to do it! ".
If the bad popes, priests, thousands of infidels and sinners in the Church have not succeeded in destroying it from within, "he was saying, implicitly, the general, what do you think you will to do so? The cardinal pointed to a crucial truth. Christ will never allow His Church to fail. He promised that the gates of hell shall not prevail against His Church, that the boat Peter, the Church in time to navigate the harbor eternal heaven, never will be dumped, not because those who will not make it all possible sins to sink, but because Christ, who is also in the boat, never allow this to happen. Christ is in the boat and he never left.
The magnitude of this scandal could be such that from now on you will find it difficult to trust priests in the same way as they did in the past. This can happen and might not be so bad. But never lose faith in the Lord! Is Your Church! Although some of his chosen already betrayed, He will call others to be faithful, who will serve you with the love they deserve to be served, as happened after the death of Judas, when the eleven apostles agreed and allowed the Lord to choose someone who take the place of Judas and chose the man who ended up being San Matías, who faithfully proclaimed the Gospel to be martyred for it.
This is a time when we all need to concentrate more on holiness We are called to be holy and what our society needs to see that beautiful, radiant face of the Church! You are part of the solution, a crucial part of the solution. And when you come forward today to receive from the hands of the priest anointed the Sacred Body of the Lord, ask Him to fill you with a real desire for sanctity, a real desire to show his true face.
One of the reasons why I am here as a priest today is because, being young, I was negatively impressed by some of the priests I knew. I saw them celebrate Mass and a reverence almost dropped the body of Christ in the plate, as if they were handling something of little value rather than the Creator and Savior of all, instead of my Creator and Savior. I remember saying to God, repeating my desire to become a priest: "Lord, please let me be a priest so you can treat you like you deserve!" That gave me a burning desire to serve the Lord.
Maybe this scandal can allow you to do the same. This scandal might be something that can lead you down the path of spiritual suicide or something that inspires them to say, finally, "I want to be holy, for I and the Church we may glorify your name as you deserve it, others can find in love and salvation that I have found. " Jesus is with us, as promised, until the end of time. He still in the boat.
As from the betrayal of Judas, He achieved the greatest victory in world history, our salvation through His Passion, death and resurrection, also through this episode he can bring and want to bring a new rebirth of holiness, to launch a new Acts XXI century, with each one of us-and this includes YOU-playing a starring role. Now is the time for real men and women Church's stand. Now is the time of the saints. How will you respond?
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