The New York Times has done it again... If you haven't read it, you should, just so you can see how their latest article on Pope Benedict XVI/Cardinal Ratzinger is completely ludicrous, ridiculous, infuriating, and ignorant.
Click here to read it now, but you may want to read this first.
This article only encouraged me to write what I am about to say, and what I have been wanting to say for a long time:
The Church has been corrupt since its foundation. Remember Judas? But we are still One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church founded by Christ and in Christ. Christ knew we were sinners, and in His infinite wisdom, mercy, and love, He established a Divine institution made of imperfect people. Christ was able to take the sin of Judas and use it for the Salvation of the entire world.
Indeed, priests and bishops alike have abused children, teens, and even adults, but that is THEIR own sin. It is NOT the fault of the Pope, or the Catholic Church as a whole. Yes, more action should have been taken early on; the Bishops had all the power they needed in order to handle it. Even the New York Times says so:
"Bishops had a variety of disciplinary tools at their disposal — including the power to remove accused priests from contact with children and to suspend them from ministry altogether — that they could use without the Vatican’s direct approval."
"Some used this authority to sideline abusive priests, minimizing the damage inflicted on their victims. Other bishops clearly made things worse, by shuffling abusers from one assignment to the next, never telling parishioners or reporting priests to the police."
So why isn't the media focusing on the lax and corrupt bishops? Why must they place the sin of others on one man's shoulders? Clearly, one man could fix the mental problems of hundreds of abuser priests and their victims quickly...How can they expect that?
Have they examined how slow our own justice system is, or how corrupt? Many victims lose their livelihood due to our own slow and corrupt court system. Does the media blame Obama? Certainly not...he's a saint!
Pope Benedict XVI has been nothing but humble and sincere throughout these entire scandal proceedings. Has anyone heard him (I mean him, and not some "representative") deny these accusations of the press, even when he knows himself to be innocent? No. He is doing everything in his power to speed this process along, and he asks for forgiveness of all things! How dare he! Come on folks, wake up and smell the incense!
Furthermore, an ordinance from 1922 does not make an innocent man guilty! Talk about staying with the times people...
It is indeed a tragedy that so many priests and religious would stray from the Way. And just as the Pope said, "Mercy does not mean the lack of justice." Their sin is inexcusable, and the effect on their victims is unchangeable. These men will be brough to justice, whether they are dead or alive. However, blaming one man for their transgressions only highlights our fallen human nature and shows that Man has not changed since the time of Christ. We must remove the beam from our own eye, so that we may see clearly to pluck the splinter out of our neighbor's eye.
A message to my fellow Catholics: If the world justice system does bring this to court, it could undermine the entire Church...but only on the surface. The Catholic Church shines most when it is persecuted. Christ on the Cross shows us this simple fact. As members of the Body of Christ, including the Pope, we will continue to suffer until the end of this world and the beginning of the New. So, this time of persecution is a call to arms...spiritual arms. Continue to pray for our Pope and our Priests, and for those who persecute them. Do not lose faith.
A message to those who oppose Christ and and His Church: I want to warn those that wrongly accuse and persecute the Church, because it is more than an institution. It is more than a hierarchy composed of laymen, priests, Bishops, Cardinals, and one Pope. It is the Body of Christ.
YOU WILL NEVER DESTROY THE CHURCH. WE ARE AN ETERNAL BODY. THE POPE MAY BE STRIPPED OF HIS TITLE, BUT HE WILL ALWAYS REMAIN THE POPE. HE WILL CONTINUE TO LEAD US, EVEN IF WE MUST GO UNDERGROUND. YOU CAN DESTROY EVERY CHURCH BUILDING, BUT YOU WILL NEVER DESTROY CHRIST'S BODY. IF YOU SPILL OUR BLOOD, YOU SPILL CHRIST'S BLOOD, BUT WE KNOW THAT THIS BLOOD IS OUR SALVATION. FOR A TIME, IT MAY SEEM AS IF YOU HAVE WON THE BATTLE, BUT YOU WILL NEVER WIN THE WAR. CHRIST HAS ALREADY WON! CHRIST IS RISEN! ALLELUIA!
I read the article before you wrote this, then read your thing, decided not to post and wait it out, but I still have a different reaction to the whole scenario. I have total faith in the RCC. Mother Church is a rock. But I do want to talk about what could have/should have been done, and I think that portions of the article were valid and can actually help the Church. I think that the Pope is currently doing all possible and I think his apologies have been clear and sufficient and that coupled with his current actions give real hope to our future. Christ is Risen! Alleluia! But let us also take our shortcomings and know them intricately and well, so as to remove them once and for all (as much as we can, at least).
ReplyDeleteOf course, well said, Monty. I am not trying to deny our shortcomings at all. As I said earlier, the Church has been corrupt from the beginning. Our priests and religious are very much human and can fall just as easily as any of us. Of course we must strive for perfection and work to eliminate this problem of unchaste priests, and help their victims recover and maintain their faith in the Church. I simply wished to point out that The New York Times, along with the rest of the world, is wrong to place ALL the blame on Pope Benedict. They have valid points, but their intentions are not to save the Church, but to undermine it. Yes, we must learn to face the truth of the matter...our fallen priests must face justice, but we must also remember that insulting the Holy Father and degrading the Church does not solve anything.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. :)
ReplyDelete