As the Easter hoohah heats up, many people the world over are wondering when the Catholic Church is going to assume accountability for the Sins of its Fathers. For decades, the Catholic Church has merely transferred priests who sexually abuse children, rather than doing the right thing. How many thousands and thousands and thousands of children have suffered in shame because the Catholic Church did not do the right thing?
Can you imagine the outcry if public school administrators just quietly transferred sex offenders out of sight rather than reporting them?
Why should a sex offender who dresses in priestly garb be spared having to answer to society for crimes against children?
And lest you think I am down on priests, let me take a moment to recommend an excellent book written by a friend of mine. Andrea Vogt's Common Courage recounts the life and death of Bill Wassmuth, a noted human rights activist and former priest who lived in the Pacific Northwest. Andrea is a superb writer and this is a moving defense of tolerance and social justice.
I would like to see the Catholic Church become a beacon of tolerance and take a firm stand against hypocrisy, especially when it comes from within its own ranks. More tolerance for activists who do good, like Bill Wassmuth, and less co-dependency and enablement for its own members who sexually abuse helpless children while advising women who are married to abusers to suck it up and pray. Perhaps a more publicly accepting attitude towards homosexuals while we're at it.
Isn't it time for the Catholic Church to change, just a little bit?
