5/14/2024
We know a Roman Catholic priest who told me and my husband that good priests leave the priesthood.
We know more than one priest who has said that if they speak the truth or openly express how they feel about the abuse crisis they would get kicked out.
Yet another priest acquaintance told me if he simply speaks publicly about his work with victims and their abusers, he would be punished.
It is not hard to find stories about whistleblower priests being penalized, smeared, or sent away for treatment, as if they were the problem. (Here is a story about Fr. Vincent Chavez in Albuquerque, NM who was sent for treatment for being vocal about the abuse crisis.)
I do not have a son. However I often think about what it must be like sending a son off to the priesthood. I would be worried. Holiness is punished while loyalty is rewarded. It breaks my heart thinking about the spiritual abuse some of these men must be going through.
What can the average lay Catholic do about this kind of clerical system? I do not think there are easy answers. However I do not think silence or a “wait and see” approach will work. They haven’t been working. In fact, the widespread culture of silence is one of the main ingredients of the problem.
…the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. (Matthew 7:13-14)
Pray for wisdom and courage.
With everything that is occurring in the Catholic Church and in our world, I have learned that the most important thing I can do, is to become the best vessel for God to work through, so HE can bring love, mercy, and healing to the souls in need.
The way to do this? Sunday Mass, Daily Mass as is possible, Confession, Holy Eucharist, Adoration, Bible Reading, Daily Rosary, Prayer, Catholic Reading, Listening to Catholic podcasts. (Fr Ripperger changed my life…I learn so much from him especially…and many others)
Thank you for your comment. Certainly we should be unceasing in our prayer. We should seek holiness and to do God’s will. This will look different for different people. But prayer and celebration of the sacraments should not be seen as hiding spaces, either. They should not be wrongly used as an excuse for passive/submissive acceptance. They are sustenance for the spiritual battle we are in.
Being submissive to God’s will and abiding (hiding?) in the heart of Jesus always opens one up to some type of action to promote the Kingdom of God and to glorify The Father. That is to never diminish those who are being called specifically to pray and atone for those souls who are living in darkness.
I agree. Some truly are called solely pray. Some are called to fast.
We should be submissive to God. Often, though, bishops hold themselves up as God’s spokesmen. This is the problem. There is a difference between being submissive to God and being submissive to a bishop. God will only call us to holiness and union with him. Fallible human leaders often call us to ignore their sins.
So true. ❤️