Catholic Stuff

The Sex Abuse Scandal

2010-04-21T12:21:00.000-05:00

If you have any familiarity with the news these days, you might be aware that stories are circulating about Pope Benedict XVI having some sort of culpability in the sex abuse scandals that continue to come to light world-wide. Understand first of all that I am no denier- I believe that very bad stuff has happened and that some priests and some bishops around the world and over the course of many, many years have done some pretty shameful things- evil things even. Child molestation is one of those evil things. I absolutely support punishing guilty people for such things- no special favors, no passes, no excuses. I am not interested in protecting anyone who is guilty.

Who is guilty? The pope? Doubt it. Highly doubt it! And yet, it seems to be getting a lot of press these days with some people even getting attention to their cries for him to resign, be arrested and tried for crimes against humanity. Whoa.

I've been reading articles and listening to the news reports. Even more so in the last few weeks I've been actively searching for articles and news reports- not just waiting to see them. In all that time I've not found anything that points to the pope being dirty on any of this- quite the opposite actually. Many things that I've found have pointed to the fact that Pope Benedict, in his previous position as Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith did a lot to make sure that sex abuse was being dealt with openly, that church authorities were cooperating with civil authorities and that policies and proceedures were being put in place to effectively combat the issue of sexual abuse in the Church.

So many of us tend to buy the news hook, line and sinker without asking critical questions. Have you ever stopped to wonder we don't hear about sex abuse problems amongst the clergy of other Christian denominations and leaders of other religions? Sex abuse happens there too- and some studies indicate comparable numbers.

Anyway, the point of all this is to say that we should be in the habit of asking deeper questions. It also matters where you get your information from- News Channel X and On-Line Newsource Y may indeed be reputable and good, but for a matter of Catholic stuff better yet might be the Vatican News Service or ZENIT.

I'm Too Busy

2010-03-02T14:54:00.000-06:00

How often do we hear ourselves saying it, or at least feeling that the sentiment is true? I'm too busy. We're waking up a little earlier, pushing back the time we go to bed. We eat meals on the go or skip them altogether in order to squeeze in all the things that we've got going on. In some ways I think we look at business as a badge of honor- the busier we are, the better we are. But when is it actually a badge of silliness?

Maybe this season of Lent can be a time of deep reflection on the business of our lives. When the business cuts into your relationship with God and you realize that you've said "I'm too busy to pay attention to you, God," then the business is silliness. Why shouldn't God say back to us, "And I am too busy for you."

God has given us gifts and talents and it would be wrong of us to not put them to use. So, join the club, play for that team, add a second minor... Where has our business gotten out of control?

Lent 2010- How Goes It?

2010-02-22T15:05:00.000-06:00

I am always amazed at the numbers of people who show up for Ash Wednesday services. A colleague of mine actually says that more people are showing up for Ash Wednesdays lately than show up for Christmas or Easter. What a surpirse. Really. We used to refer to those people as "ChrEasters." Now we're going to have to come up with a new name, like ChrAshSters?

What makes people come on Ash Wednesday day? I wish I could answer that. Why don't you? Would you be willing to explain why you show up for Ash Wednesday services?

I am also amazed to hear some of the statistics that lots of people actually engage the Lenten practices of fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and abstaining from meat on Fridays during Lent. I don't want to sound like a cynic, but when you're working in the Church, you're looking at things like Mass attendance as a benchmark for how serious people are about practicing their faith. A lot of people don't go to Mass every weekend, and some only go a few times a year. So, it is surprising (a happy surprise) that people are serious about Lent. Good. Sweet. Why? What do you like about Lent and what are you doing to engage the Lenten disciplines of Fasting, Praying and Giving Alms?