Word to the Wise
Monday, November 12, 2018 - Monday in the 32th Week in Ordinary Time
[Titus 1:1-9 and Luke 17:1-6]For a bishop as God's steward must be blameless, not arrogant, not irritable, not a drunkard, not aggressive, not greedy for sordid gain, but hospitable, a lover of goodness, temperate, just, holy, and self-controlled, holding fast to the true message as taught so that he will be able both to exhort with sound doctrine and to refute opponents. [Titus] "Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the one through whom they occur.....If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, 'I am sorry,' you should forgive him." [Luke]
NOVEMBER 12 ST. JOSAPHAT, bishop and martyr
The Word of God today will, no doubt, strike various chords in the hearts of many of us as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops winds up its annual November meeting and prepares for a special "retreat" in early January to consider the terrible consequences of the actions of some of their number in covering up the crimes of abusive clerics (some of them bishops themselves). What seems certain at the moment is that efforts are being made to respond to the needs of those who are victims of the abuse. What is uncertain is how the clerical environment which allowed both the abuse and the cover up to develop will be changed to prevent such things from ever occurring again. Indeed, the "safe environment" procedures that have been put into place nation-wide since the bishops' meeting in Dallas in 2002 have shown themselves to be effective. The statistics show this. What the bishops left undone at that time was dealing with their own responsibility, believing themselves answerable only to the Pope. They are now finding themselves answerable to secular authority in the form of District attorneys and grand juries.
To keep my own balance in all this, I go back to history and see that the church has survived through terrible times that destroyed lesser institutions - Roman persecution, the Black Death, the Reformation, the French Revolution and its offspring, two World Wars and now rampant secularism that threatens all faith. I also recognize that as terrible as the damage done by abusive clerics is (and must be addressed), the number of people who committed these acts relative to the total number of faithful priests and bishops is rather small, even if their acts seem to put all of us trying to serve faithfully in a terrible light. I have to keep on preaching, administering sacraments and being faithful to the commitment I have made as a Dominican friar and ordained priest. I don't know what else I can do except to pray that we find our way through all of this to calmer and more accountable waters.
The Letter to Titus remains the standard we should expect of our religious leadership from Pope to pewperson. The Gospel today also reminds us of the importance of mercy and forgiveness, even when the sin is terrible. It is not easy for any of us right now, but faithful perseverance in God's love as manifested in the life of Jesus and in the guidance of the Holy Spirit will see us through. At least that's the path I'm trying to follow. AMEN