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This Is My Church
By Christine Rodgers ,Winsted
It seems appropriate to me that at this time, when the Roman Catholic Church has been dragged through the mud of the media, there must be some clarification of facts. Both Dan Rather and Fox News reported last year that of the 60,000 Roman Catholic priests in this country, approximately 0.5% (or about 300 priests) were involved in the heinous crimes which have been committed against young people. While it is abhorrent that even one person would not only betray the vow of his vocation but also betray the trust that an innocent and vulnerable child would have placed in him, it is also abhorrent that the 59,700 men who have been faithful to their vows be viewed in any other way than with the utmost respect and admiration for the lives that they have chosen at great personal sacrifice. How horrific it must be for these innocent and holy men to be looked upon with disdain and suspicion.
I feel that it is also important at this time to dispel the popular belief that if these men were permitted to marry, this situation would not exist. If this were the case, would not these men be going after women instead of children and young men? Certainly, these are crimes of pedophilia and homosexuality that are being perpetrated against the weak.
Pope John Paul II has stated that he wants a revision to the U.S. Catholic bishops’ policy on sexual abuse. Our Holy Father has said that each individual priest must receive due process. It is my opinion that this proposal is entirely proper.
For the past 40 years there has been an unprecedented anti-Catholic prejudice pervasive in the media and in the field of entertainment. It has become acceptable and even desirable to mock the values and morals that the Church has stood for through the past two millennia. However, if any other religion or ethnic group was the target of similar attacks there would be such an outcry of rage that the proponents of "political correctness" would be sure to denounce such behavior.
Perhaps the Roman Catholic Church has remained the object of criticism because it alone has been the constant voice of political justice for all the oppressed, openly defends human life from conception to natural death, holds fast the sanctity of a marriage between one man and one woman, and has continually stood for family values.
This is my Church, a church that I am very proud of and grateful for. And I would like to publicly thank the men and women who have given their lives for the purpose of propagating this same faith. In particular, I would like to thank the 59,700 faithful men for their fortitude and courage in the face of such adversity. May God be with you and uphold you during this extremely difficult time.
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