I used to think the Catholic Church was a lot like an ant, sometimes moving in the wrong direction but eventually getting to the right place. I no longer feel that way anymore. This is mostly because of the way the church in the US handled the issue of pedophile priests, shuffling them around so as to cover up their crimes and the way they vigorously defended them when they got caught, no matter what that meant for the victims.
In the US, the accused have the right to defend themselves but they are not required to do so. An institution that claims to have the moral authority that the Catholic Church does has also the moral obligation to admit when it has made mistakes. Catholicism is all about forgiveness of sins, but only when the sinner admits the sin and makes a sincere attempt to avoid repeating it. The church, unfortunately, worried more about its image than the harm inflicted on children and rather than admit its own failings, tried to blame the victims. This is sin of the most grievous kind yet there is no sign that the church understands that this is so.
If you’re a American Catholic it’s time you took a very hard look at your church and ask yourself if belonging to an institution that enables child rape is really what God wants of you. Remember Matthew 25:40: “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’”
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