Father Ted Trinko, IVE
National Shrines of the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
(9/1) This summer a good number of people have understandably had their faith shaken by accusations of terrible crimes committed by members both low and high of the Catholic hierarchy throughout the world. It has been referred to as a "crisis," a "moral catastrophe," and a "sign of the collapse of the episcopal establishment in the United States."
The abuse of trust by the very men who are appointed to lead us closer to God is a difficult subject to talk or write about. In many ways, it is as sickening as it is tragic. But it necessary to bring it to light in order to respond to it in an appropriate manner.
What are we to make of all this? How should a Catholic respond to the priest abuse scandal? Perhaps Peter put it best: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."
In chapter six of John’s Gospel, we see Our Lord giving His followers that magnificent promise of the Eucharist and eternal life. However, many of His listeners had trouble understanding and accepting His message. In fact, we read that: "as a result of this [teaching], many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied
Him."
Now we find ourselves faced by a similar test of faith due to the acts committed or omitted by many of those who are called to be shepherds of the flock of Christ. As a result, there are people who are questioning their faith in the Church which Jesus built upon Peter. It’s at this moment when Christ will turn to us, His followers, and repeat that
question which he made 2000 years ago to His apostles: "Do you also wish to go away?"
It was this question from our Lord which prompted Peter’s magnificent reply "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."
"Well," one could say, "that’s what I say also. I wouldn’t ever consider leaving Christ, but this Catholic Church is just intolerable." The problem with that thought is that we cannot separate Jesus from the Church any more than we can separate a head from its body. The Church is His mystical body (cf. Rom 12:5) and you can’t have the one without the
other.
At least, that’s what Jesus tells us in Sacred Scriptures: "Whoever listens to you, listens to me; whoever rejects you, rejects me": "If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven"; and when Saul was thundering to Damascus to arrest the followers of the Way, Our Lord appeared to Him and asked
"Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" Note that Our Lord did not ask Saul why he was persecuting "My Church," but rather, why he was persecuting "Me."
Where Peter said, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life," we need to add, "You and Your Church have the words of eternal life." Jesus and His Church are a package deal.
It is through the Church that Jesus continues to speak and sanctify believers. That is why the Church is holy; not because it is full of holy people, but because in the Church is the power of God which can make people holy regardless of the sinfulness of the ministers in it.
A practical consequence of this connection between Christ and the Church is that if we profess to love one (Christ) we must also love the other (the Church). But let’s face it, the Church is not always very lovable. In fact, in times like these, it’s difficult to even consider how we even tolerate it. After all, Jesus wouldn’t have done what some of
these ministers are accused of doing.
Unfortunately, this is hardly the first time the Bride of Christ has made herself tough to love by the sins of its members.
All of the Church’s members on earth still suffer from the effects of original sin. This means that each and every last one of them (of us) has stained the Church with sins. Sometimes they are hidden sins which will only become known on the Last Day. Other times, they are made manifest to the horror of all the world as they have been of late. It can be
very difficult to bear the human aspect of the Church which is imperfect, messy, corrupt, and sinful.
Recognition of this led Pope St. John Paul II to make a solemn apology for the sins of its members at the turn of the millennium.
My sister introduced me to a Catholic novelist from the South by the name of Flannery O’Connor who clearly saw this human side of the Church and wrote, "It’s not suffering for the Church that bothers me; it’s suffering from her." Mary Settle, another southern Catholic author, wrote some sobering lines to a friend who had just converted to Catholicism:
"Congratulations, but get ready. It’s a rather untidy outfit you’re joining up with."
This is why Pope John Paul II asked the Catholic youth of the world to "be patient" with the Church because "the Church is always a community of weak and imperfect individuals."
Recognizing its sinfulness, the Church is working to reform itself. In the last two weeks, we have seen many statements addressing the scandal. Pope Francis released a powerful "Letter to the People of God" on August 20. Several bishops gave very strong and candid declarations which outlines the first steps to addressing the crisis. And there have been
scores of spot-on articles by priests and lay faithful, addressing the situation with the brutal candor and incisive proposals for the reform that the Church needs.
This is all well and good and indicates a step in the right direction, but are we just supposed to wait around patiently twiddling our thumbs? Not at all. Without pretending to be an exhaustive list, there are three things we can do:
First of all, as Pope Francis pointed out in his letter, we need to make reparation by fasting and prayer.
Secondly, we need to demand to get to the bottom of the scandal which will prevent its recurrence. This is not merely a case of "abuse of power" or "clericalism," but more essentially it is a lack of chastity among the clergy.
Thirdly, we need to focus on living our faith. Jesus told the parable about allowing the weeds to grow amidst the wheat until the harvest time to remind us that we need to fundamentally focus not on the evil which is always present among the people of God, but on the building up of the good wheat. Evil should not be tolerated, but nor should
annihilating it be our primary concern.
As this "moral catastrophe" continues to unfold, let us remember and take comfort in the words of St. Paul: "where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more" (Rom 5:20). Just as God used the betrayal of one of His first ministers, Judas, as an occasion for his salvific Passion and Death, so too will God use the betrayal of his ministers from the 20th and
21st centuries as an occasion to bring about some good as only He can.
For now, we say with St. Peter, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You and Your Church have the words of eternal life."
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