Saving the Catholic Church

Pope Francis and the leaders of the Catholic Church are finally dealing with decades of hidden sins and sexual abuse committed by priests and bishops all over the world. While victims deem the on-going conference as “Too little –Too late,” there is no denying the fact that it is the first time that the Vatican leadership has openly and publicly addressed the mortal sins of priests and bishops against women and children or minors. What has yet to be exposed would be sexual assaults conducted by priests or bishops on novice priests and nuns some of whom have lived to repeat the very violence done to them.

It is a big bold step that Pope Francis and senior members of the Church now recognize the many sins. The fact that a “senior” Bishop, the German Cardinal Reinhard Marx was allowed to state that there are many such sins, that those sins were investigated, documented, and ultimately covered up, with records being destroyed, gives both the faithful and the harshest critics the undeniable proof that the gathering of 190 Bishops from around the world is transparent and equal to a public confession of the Catholic Church.

This first step is undoubtedly the necessary move because it is the closest that the Vatican and the church has come to publicly dealing with the sins of their very own shepherds of the flock. After this public confession, the next step would be for the sinners to step forward and receive their punishment from the Vatican as well as from the law wherever the grave offenses were committed. When all of that is done then the offenders and the institution they represent should pay compensation. Sadly most of this is simply compliance with biblical and human standards for Justice but it is not a cure all because even after getting an apology, getting compensation or watching their attackers go to jail or the gas chamber, victims of violent crimes end up living with a dark hole that they have filled with anger or pain for years but could never ever fill or cover up.

There are also a great number of victims who found the God-given ability to forgive those who hurt or destroyed their humanity, and the common realization they share is that forgiving was not goodwill towards the guilty but to yourself. By forgiving they realized that they were stronger and a bigger human being. They also realized that bitterness and hatred was like a poison they drank everyday until they decided to stop it. Forgiving the offender does not mean they get to go scot-free. They will still be accountable to God. There are many sinners I know who turned their back on their past life and gave their lives to the Lord. But they still had to carry the consequences of sin whether it’s having a criminal record, a life long injury, impairment or terminal disease resulting from their lifestyle or just the sheer guilt and realization of the hurt or injury you caused upon innocent or loving people.

At this point in history, what the Catholic Church needs is divine intervention and the intercessory prayers of people from all walks of faith because the godly petition we make (especially for those whose views, culture or beliefs are different from ours) are the preferred requests because they are not self-serving or selfish. We need to pray for the Catholic Church so that this painful but restorative act of self-confession will finally separate the Wolves from the Sheep. Hopefully, the investigations will not end merely seeking and destroying the enemies of the church but will lead to an institution-wide reflection and analysis of doctrine and practices. For the longest time in church and biblical history there has been an argument over the celibate lifestyle required of priests. While purity is a highly treasured state of being, celibacy is an unnatural lifestyle relative to God’s design of human beings and many argue that it is this unnatural choice that has led to the unnatural carnal acts and sins within the Catholic Church. Lets consider what St Paul said in the book of Romans: 1:27

“In the same way men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty of their error.”

The prohibition for churchmen to marry and have families begins from the sect-based choice for celibacy and ends up allegedly becoming a financial defense mechanism of the church to counter claims for support and inheritance or property ownership of priest families. True or false, the mere fact that a priest or bishop is celibate and unmarried robs them of the experience and real life lessons or know how concerning Sex, Marriage, raising children, managing finances, fidelity etc. Yes you can Google it, but it won’t come with a diploma or certificate of expertise that real life teaches all of us. As they say in court, most of what the Priest or Bishop can teach is “hearsay” and not “firsthand knowledge.”

Perhaps the bishops and priests ought to remember that Jesus Christ himself came to the world, experienced real life with a real family, in a time of occupation and oppression, had 12 of the most complicated, dysfunctional apostles and had a posse of women from all walks of life who literally loved him, worshiped and adored him. He could have simply stayed distant and done things with a remote control but instead:

“He had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he may become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

Let us all pray for the Catholic Church because in the end a church is nothing more or less than the people who claim to be part of it.