Scapegoating Bishops
Today we have Church that has failed its people. We have Church leadership that has tried to turn back the clock to pre Vatican II days. We have Church leadership that has betrayed, and brutalized its most vulnerable members.
Focus is very important, focus can be the lens through which we can perceive the truth, or it can be a lens in which we are dazzled with smoke and mirrors. Some of our Bishops are trying to make the focus privilege of authority, and not responsibility of authority. Yes, we are all frail human beings, but all must be accountable for our actions.
During this clergy sexual abuse scandal not one Bishop has worn sack cloth, and covered himself in ashes. Not one has gone to jail for lying to grand juries. The one Cardinal who was responsible for horrific abuse of authority, Cardinal Bernard Law has been rewarded for cowardly and unethical behavior.
It is time for Catholic lay people to accept the part they have played in this grotesque opera. The money keeps flowing because of our false belief about service to poor. Judas's 30 silver pieces, even if spent on the poor, can never justify the act of betrayal.
I pray that all of us are able to be ethical in relationship with one another. However, ethics is a hard value to find in today’s world of clericalism.
We all need to repent for this scandal, and not scapegoat innocent people. We also need to focus on who are the real victims in this scandal.
