Just two weeks ago I sat here, writing an exhortation to my flock to not despair, and to always maintain faith in the Church even as her frail, weak, sometimes abominable human ministers and leaders offered us the gravest causes for scandal, seemingly week in and week out. Once again, here I sit, having to take a dose of my own medicine (one of my least favorite things to do, by the way), striving to sift through the gathering cloud of darkness that once again obscures the goodness of Christ’s bride, the Church.


 
With still more revelations of alleged abuse coming to light in this recent case, we are once again experiencing the “blow upon a bruise” of seeing those who were placed in authority over God’s children take advantage of their power in absolutely soul-crushing ways. In these times, which alternatively strike me as being
frustrating, infuriating, and just depressing, I offer two small thoughts that might help guide us through this.
 
I know a very wise priest who has now been ordained for over fifty years, which obviously means he has seen quite a few changes in the Church and her external
manifestation. He once spoke of how he and some of his peers had drifted away from wearing clerical attire for a time. Because they felt as though they were being fawned over and treated with an undue amount of deference when they stepped out into public wearing their collars, they decided to stop wearing them unless they were actively engaged in ministry. That way they could reconnect with their parishioners, not have their checks picked up for them at restaurants all the time, and protect themselves from the omnipresent danger of pride and egotism. All that changed after the dark revelations in 2002. Gathered together as a group, trying to process what had happened and start picking up the pieces, they decided that now that
people needed healing and there would be many who would spurn and shun them for dressing as priests in public, they would once again go about their daily
lives with their vocation on their sleeve.

That call goes out to us right now. Every time this disease rears its ugly head, people inevitably leave the Church. Many just can’t stomach what has
happened, and I understand that thought process, even if I don’t consider the end result to be an option. For some, another incident proves to be the metaphorical last straw. But for those of us who could never bring ourselves to separate from the Body of Christ, we are now called upon to be ministers of healing and signs of contradiction for those who have been wounded and betrayed by scandal. This can only happen through prayer. Our Church needs prayer, fasting, and sacrifice more than ever. It has to be us, because there are obviously those who are unwilling to make any kind of sacrifice to protect and defend the Church and the souls which have been entrusted to her. I hope you believe me when I say that I am sorry that it falls to us. I am sorry about all of this. My heart breaks every time something like this come to light. But even in this, God calls us to take up our cross, even in the face of others’ dereliction of duty, to offer sacrifices for the salvation of souls.
 
The second and final thought is not my own but is taken from Bishop Barron’s Letter to a Suffering Church. It is times like these that we must look inward and reflect on why we remain in the Church as disciples of Christ. Please pray for the sanctification of our shepherds, and for the healing of our Church.
 
Prayers always.
Fr. McC
 
“In the end, we are not Catholics because our leaders are flawless, but because we find the claims of Catholicism both compelling and beautiful. We are Catholics because the Church speaks of the Trinitarian God whose very nature is love; of Jesus the Lord, crucified and risen from the dead; of the Holy Spirit, who inspires the followers of Christ up and down the ages; of the sacraments, which convey the Christ-life to us; and of the saints, who are our friends in the spiritual order.
This is the treasure; this is why we stay.”                               -Bishop Robert Barron