More Shock and Revulsion in Philadelphia

When will it end?  The thought of all the lives ruined is too much sometimes.  Could anyone blame these victims if they ran as far away as possible from the faith in which they were brought up?  Think of how this compounds the sins of those who violated the innocence of the lives entrusted to them.  Their immorality would be bad enough.  But to drive away from the Church which you were ordained to serve a poor soul who, through no fault of their own,  was victimized by the worst kind of pervert, the kind that preys upon children?

My father, as I may have mentioned, is a staunchly conservative man.  Many was the time my mother had to referee a political "discussion"  between us, especially in my younger and more liberal days.  Tonight, I stopped by their house because my mother called me at work and lured me with a pizza in the oven just for me.  By the time I was able to get there, they had already started their dinner.  My father was unusually quiet and didn't eat much at all.  When I asked him what was wrong, he said two words:

"Those priests."

My father went on to say how sickened he was and how worried he is for the Church.  Invariably, every time there is an eruption of this sort, it's the non-practicing Catholics who are the first to get in line to take pot-shots. He also feels badly for the decent priests, already stretched thin, who have to bear the brunt of this.  He wondered out loud how long God is going to allow these abominations to continue before He sends us His wrath.

My father went on to tell me about a waitress at the diner where he worked a second job some years ago.  She was a single mom who managed to put two sons through Catholic high school.  The younger boy decided to enter the seminary, but he struggled with his studies and was asked to leave.  Naturally, there are two sides to every story, and who's to say that this is the real reason the would-be priest was asked to move on?  My father said that every once in awhile, he thinks of that young man and how though maybe not the brightest person, he would have made a more upstanding priest than the sort who have just had their mug shots plastered all over the news.

"I can't believe they don't know what these guys are when they try to get into the priesthood."

I reminded him that pedophiles are often very good at hiding their dirty little secrets.  There are plenty of teachers who have molested children who no one ever suspected until the awful truth came out.

There will of course be all kinds of speculation about whether priests should be celibate, whether women should be admitted to the priesthood, etc. and the church hierarchy can thank themselves for that.  I must admit to the temptation of considering that perhaps if married men were permitted to become priests, there wouldn't be such desperation for priests that perverts are given a blind pass.  I'm not saying that the abusers did what they did because of celibacy.  They did what they did because they're depraved, period.  I'm simply wondering if  the church would be better served by allowing decent men who happen to be married to serve God.

Philadelphia D.A. Seth Williams put it succinctly: "It's time for the church to put protection of children ahead of protection from scandal."


Respectful comments are welcome.  Belligerent and attacking remarks will be ignored.