- File
Cardinal Bernard Law
Andre Wright, Staff Reporter
CATHOLICISM TOOK another heavy blow a week ago when Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston in the United States, tipped by some pundits as a contender to the papacy, offered his resignation to Pope John Paul II. The decision by Cardinal Law to step down, after his role in transferring paedophile priests was exposed, must be commended, but it must be remembered that he only did so after tremendous pressure, especially from his own congregation.
However, many people have lost faith, not in God, but in institutionalised religion, because its leaders have been more committed to politicking and back-scratching than to the care of their congregations.
Some commentators are urging 'understanding' and 'forgiveness' to set the tone for dealing with clergy who have abused their office to the detriment of their parishioners, but they are forgetting that the carnal abuse scandals that rocked the Catholic Church in the United States, and the later reports which were revealed in Europe and Australia, point to a major breach of the law.
It was not simply an impropriety. It was not simply a matter of trust. It was not that priests went beyond a code of conduct.
Corrupt, perverse priests had sex with or fondled little boys whose spiritual interests should have been safeguarded. The scandal, which has sent shockwaves throughout the world, indicates that high-ranking members of the Catholic Church were more interested in covering up the big stink.
Before Jesus ascended he told Peter, "Feed my sheep." Cardinal Law compromised his responsibility as Christ's 'shepherd' by protecting immoral priests instead of vulnerable, violated children.
The Roman Catholic Church is one of the defining elements of Westernism. As an institution that has been implicated in some of the worst atrocities in European history, the church should be strategically committed to turning back years of embarrassment. Immediately after the scandal broke, and even now, though, the public remains largely unconvinced about the will to forthrightly address the scandal.
The statements and declarations made have been equivocal at best. The Vatican and other officials, in their regulations governing sexual misdemeanours by priests, have failed to make the world, especially the victims, believe that the church is ready to punish the offenders and condemn, without exception, such actions of the clergy.
People want to know that the church will defend truth and remove those whose character and actions are inconsistent with that policy, without placing conditions on first offences or second offences or mumbo jumbo legalese. Condemning actions and condemning people are two different things. Sure, they should be forgiven, sure the hand of mercy ought to be extended. But priests or other members of the laity should not be granted positions of power, if they are known to be guilty of sexually abusing minors. Hard-line measures should be quickly implemented to stamp out the practice. The church needs to adopt a greater sense of transparency, openness and self-criticism. But that is wishful thinking.
And, of course, what also needs to be addressed is the policy of the Roman Catholic Church that their priests must be celibate. This relic of overzealous, prudish pedagogues who have long since rotted in the grave, is stifling the rich potential of the fold and is limiting the success of the denomination. Look at the large number of men who could have served so faithfully, so devoutly, but rules and regulations have driven them away because they are forced to resist loving women sexually and taking them as wives. That a priest does not have a wife, cannot be considered a virtue. That the church condemns him to suppress emotions and desires that are natural and God-given is no virtue. Remember that marriage is an older institution than Judaism and Christianity.
It would provide such liberation for those poor priests, who suffer in silence every day, or become perverse predators on innocent boys. But that is wishful thinking. It is no wonder that sex scandals have bespotted the church's 'whiter-than-snow' garments. And the worst could very well be yet to come.
E-mail Andre Wright at wrights@colis.com.
