Bill Donohue may not be the easiest person to listen to, but he gets his facts straight. It is sadly acceptable sport to do anything and everything to try and defame the Church as a whole. It is acceptable to target innocent priests, extort money, and blanket blame over the whole shootin' match. It is to the point where anyone, no matter how little credibility they have, can accuse a priest, the accusation will stick, and he will not be afforded the same rights or defense as any other American citizen. And it is all socially accepted, even applauded. Anti-Catholic sentiment is as common as cornbread and just as savored. I choose to believe that most who join in do not grasp the entirety of that which they have aligned themselves.
The priests that did commit terrible criminal acts, rightly inspire outrage. They are Christ-Bearers, expected to live at a higher standard. We look up to them as shepherds. But, it is never okay to falsely accuse anyone and see them punished. To see this happening to innocent priests, one has to also see the evil that would like to see the Church crippled. Thankfully, God has assured us in Matthew 16:18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
The church is certainly paying deeply for the problem priests. In my opinion the pain it is suffering has gone unfairly too far. The problem is that the secular world is turning on religion in general and the pedophilia is a point they can harp on to build its attack. It's so very sad.
ReplyDeleteToday I got an email from from a priest who is a family member - my mother's cousin. I think he's 83 years old or thereabouts. The email sounded so disheartened with the state of the world and the Godlessness that has taken root. I'm going to post it on my J's Cafe blog, so look for it.
Peace. The world does not look kindly to us. In a way it's a sort of persecution we are undergoing.