My wife and I were raised as devout Catholics and began to raise our family in the same tradition. As the church’s ongoing criminal actions continue to come to light, I am happy that we no longer have to waste an hour each week being lectured about how much we sin and how bad we’re supposed to feel about it. We have raised two great children without this kind of pressure, and are proud of the men they are becoming.
My sister and her family continue to believe. It brings them peace, and I respect that. They are very involved in the church and she is a teacher in their parish’s school. They are taking a trip to Italy in a couple of years, and I said we may be interested in chaperoning a trip with our nephew and niece. She told me that to do so, we would have to take a class and receive certification that we have been educated about sexual abuse of children.
I am beyond outraged. The problems plaguing the Catholic Church are not about regular people committing sexual assault against children or anyone else. It is about the leadership chosen; trained; and, in many cases, protected by the church. They are the criminals that need training, guilt, and punishment. It is the monsters that they continue to employ who hypocritically stand before us and tell us how unworthy we are to receive God’s grace. Until the church does this kind of soul searching, they will continue to lose support and respect as a moral authority in the world.
