Fr. Don's Daily Reflection - October 24, 2024
Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from You.”
The optimism and hope of Vatican II’s documents expressed a view of what the church should be. E.g., the church is “the spotless spouse of the spotless Lamb”. It would be a brave or out-of-touch commentator who would use those terms in today’s media climate. Some disenchanted hearers would laugh; others might say, are you kidding?
Victims of clerical abuse would not be able to forget the trauma and lasting pain. Laypeople, victims of sexual abuse or not, ask themselves: Should I stay in the church? Why stay a Catholic? At least one article, by Drew Magary, states a harsh negative: The Catholic Church doesn’t deserve your forgiveness (GQ, 9/12/18) and the text includes lines like: “The Catholic Church deserved to run out of second chances a long time ago.”
Some must ask themselves: why stay with such a corrupt and un-trustworthy organization? Many thoughtful Catholics have probably pondered that. Others of us, hearing of the suffering and anguish of victims of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, think also of its effect on the young. One group at the church meeting (Synod on Youth, in session, Oct. ‘18) puts it this way: “A Church that cannot be trusted is simply incapable of reaching out to young people in an effective way."
Cardinal Cupich (of Chicago) picks up a ‘good’ in all this: “The pain such publicity causes the church is a small price to pay if it liberates people (the abused) to come forward.”
Can we meet Christ in the same place where all this abuse has happened?
Each of us may need to think and pray about this. Those of us who see some good in the church need to ponder these issues, discuss them and pray about them. Finally, Cupich says: “Beneath the anger (is) also a sadness in the hearts of many people that they know we can do better.”
Psalm 27: “I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness / in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong; / be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord!”
