POPE

POPE, April 17, 2008

Pope Benedict is currently visiting the United States. He was met at the airport by President Bush, Mrs. Bush and Jenna Bush. This was the first time that the President participated in an airport welcoming reception since he was inaugurated. President Bush also hosted the Pope at an event at the White House that was the largest event at the White House under this administration. 13,000 people attended the event. At Nationals Park this morning, 46,000 people attended a two hour mass. Some people arrived as early as 5:30am.
One of the biggest problems within the Catholic Church within the United States has been the sex abuse scandal where, according to NBC News, 11,000 allegations of abuse took place within the US involving 4,400 priests over a 50 year period. The Catholic Church has spent over $2 billion in legal settlements. Over the past number of years, a number of Catholics have expressed outrage at the scandal and in particular the Church’s handling of the scandal.
I am Catholic; however over the past number of years, I have not been practicing. I am one of the many that feel the Church’s handling of the scandal was outrageous. Instead of prosecuting the sexual predators that were masquerading as priests, the Church instead just transferred the priests to different parishes. In fact, one of these predators was transferred to my hometown parish church, St. Paul’s on the Lake in Grosse Pointe Farms, MI. In the wake of the scandal, on numerous occasions, priests at St. Paul’s would ask for donations in order to cover some of the costs associated with the scandal.
On his flight to the US, the Pope stated, “We are deeply ashamed and we will do what is possible so this can not happen again in the future. We will absolutely exclude pedophiles from the sacred ministry. This is absolutely incompatible and who is really guilty to be a pedophile can not be a priest.”
While these comments are at least a start in the right direction, the Church still has not done enough to rectify the damage caused by the pedophiles. When I was going to grade school, the local monsignor was not just a priest, but also someone all of us looked up to. He provided us with guidance and direction as to the appropriate way to live our lives. He was the voice and face of the Church and as such was someone we all looked up to and respected. To have a local priest sexually abuse a member of the church is about as bad a crime as there is.
At mass at Nationals Park, the Pope continued on the Church’s apology regarding the sex scandal. He said, “No words of mine could describe the pain and have inflicted by such abuse. Nor can I adequately describe the damage that has occurred within the community of the Church.”
I am pleased that the Pope has made these statements regarding the sex scandal. However, I just wish that these types of statements had come earlier. The church needs to make sure that each pedophile is thrown in jail. I also hope that instead of allowing Cardinal Shaw, who was at the heart of the problem of transferring pedophiles in the Boston area to new parishes, to retire at a resort in the Italian mountains, he too should be prosecuted and thrown n jail. Until the Church takes a stronger position, those of us that have temporarily stopped practicing, the Church will not have the faith of its flock and will continue to have problems.