A few months back, when all the ugly stuff about sexually immoral clergymen started hitting the news, I had a few ideas about how this would all turn out. Then Archbishop Vigano's letter became public and that ratcheted things up a bit more. When Abp. Vigano's second letter came out, it was beginning to look like little was going to be done. Now that he has released a third letter (and basically says, "time to fish or cut bait") it is getting even more surreal. I will admit that I never thought that Pope Francis would basically just ignore the entire problem (he has clearly failed in his ministry as Shepherd). I also must admit that I never really thought that the vast majority of Bishops (even in America) would just stand by and say almost nothing about it.
Then, I went back and read some more history. Did you know that in the vast majority of the times when genuine renewal and restoration happened in the Church that it was not the Bishops or Priests who were leading the charge? It was the laity and often the religious as well. They were the ones (with humility and respect!) calling for holiness. They were the ones who were asking for the clerics to do something about the problems that existed. It appears to be the same today.
Serving three parishes means that I am working "in the trenches" and therefore I often get my hands and feet dirty. People come to me and talk about their struggles, and it is not uncommon for me to hear people ask why more Bishops are not taking a clear stand against what every honest person can see is the problem? Sodomy on the one hand (let's call it what it is), and liturgical abuse on the other (no it is not a "different style"); they are the two sides of the coin (those willing to abuse the worship of God, will be more willing to abuse their fellow man). One person suggested that Bishops laicize every priest who either has homosexual tendencies or who abuses the liturgy on a consistent basis immediately; he said "I'd rather be without a priest each Sunday, than have one who offends God, and is a threat to my son's virginity".
That is the real issue here that seems to be hindering genuine godly progress. Many seem to be afraid that the priest shortage will get worse. Yet, it appears that most laity would be willing to do without some good in order to avoid a horrible evil. Will the Bishops follow this pattern and do the serious work to "cut off the hand that offends" us all? I will confess that I hope and pray that something of this nature is what they choose to do when the USCCB meets next week. It is not my place to tell a Bishop (any Bishop) what to do, but it is the place of every one of us to call for a "cleansing of the temple". Even Canon Law says that the laity are supposed to speak to their Bishops about their problems. The offense of sodomite priests is in many ways worse than the offense that caused Jesus to drive people out of the temple in the first century. Some today need to be "driven out" by the Bishops!
As I mentioned in yesterday's post, it is hard to be a parent and bring proper discipline on children. The tendency of many today is to let things slide and hope for the best. It should be obvious that this sin has "slid" all the way to our spiritual fathers as well. Many of them are committing the same sin of neglect as are parents, and the results are the same -- disaster. Those who are abdicating their parental responsibilities (even a little) need to take to heart what it means for them to be screaming at the Bishops to "fix things" when they refuse to "fix things" in their own homes. Compromise breeds further compromise, and these Bishops who have failed in their calling were raised in homes that experienced the exact same failed parenting techniques as the rest; how can we possibly be surprised at what it going on? Looking at the problems in the home over the last 75 years, we should have seen this coming.
Therefore, those in positions of leadership need to be doing the hard work to overcome this plague which has hit the Church. While the faithful are crying out for truth, holiness, and traditional reverence, there are Cardinals and Bishops who are seeking to promote lies, abominations, and modernism; they have sold their souls for a pot of beans (Hebrews 12:16). God's people are hurting terribly right now and as a pastor they come to me to express their suffering. I have been making it my regular effort to give them hope. Yet, there are not many signs of hope when those over us are so unclear about what needs to be done. We, as the Church of God, have been betrayed, and not just by a few laity who have fallen away, but by a band of clergymen who want to abandon our Church's historic faith and follow the path of Judas Iscariot (remember how he ended up?).
My own faith is strong; strong in Christ and His power. Yet, it becomes harder day by day for many to keep the faith. There were times when God went through ancient Israel and wiped out large portions of the leadership for their disobedience and failure to protect those under their care. I truly pray that does not have to happen today, and yet we all need to be praying that God will do something to protect His people when those called to do so fail in their task. My Patron Saint is St. Jude. Starting today I am going to be saying the novena to St. Jude. It will end on the last day of the USCCB meeting in Baltimore. I encourage all of you to do the same or find some similar set of prayers. Pray for our Church; pray for holiness; pray for reparation.
