Is It A Sin To Rebuke A Priest?

A reader has suggested that it is sinful to speak ill of a priest or a bishop and that rather than speak out against corruption within the clergy, Catholics should pray and remain silent.

I couldn't disagree more.

Although I would caution Catholics against the sin of rash judgment, and remind people to be mindful of the requirements of the Eighth Commandment, I firmly maintain that Catholics have a duty to rebuke the clergy when they have gone astray and to warn others against such clerics so they will not be confused by the errors wayward priests and/or bishops are observed to be spreading.

There are provisions for rebuking clergy described in Sacred Scripture:

“Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning." (1 Timothy 5:19-20)

“If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” (Matthew 18:15-17)

There are also examples:

"And when Kephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he clearly was wrong.   For, until some people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to draw back and separated himself, because he was afraid of the circumcised.   And the rest of the Jews (also) acted hypocritically along with him, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.  But when I saw that they were not on the right road in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Kephas in front of all,  'If you, though a Jew, are living like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews ?'” (Galatians 2:11-14)

During the Arian heresy, approximately one third of the bishops in the Church became Arian, along with countless priests and entire dioceses. Yet if we are to believe, as apparently some Catholics do, that priests and bishops may never be corrected, never challenged, and/or never exposed, it was wrong to say that Arian priests and bishops were teaching error.

The same would follow for countless other heretical sects that had their origins in heretical Catholic clergy.

Martin Luther was a Catholic priest. Can he not be criticized?

Saints were often critical of priests and religious:

St. Catherine of Siena made a pilgrimage to Avignon in Southern France to persuade the Pontiff Pope Gregory XI to return from exile to Rome where he belonged. After the death of Gregory XI on March 26, 1378, the Great Schism began when Pope Urban VI was selected as his successor. Several of the dissident French cardinals objected and elected their own at Fondi Robert of Geneva who became the antipope Clement VII and set up his headquarters in Avignon. St. Catherine knew Urban was the true Pope and did all in her power to secure support for him and end the schism. While she was a staunch supporter of his Primacy, she did not hesitate to rebuke him when she saw weakness or knew he was wrong.

St. Catherine was also critical of priests in her Dialogue (the work which was the primary reason she was made a Doctor of the Church):

"Your miseries are not hid from you now, for the worm of conscience sleeps no longer, but is gnawing you, the devils shout and render to you the reward which they are accustomed to give their servants, that is to say, confusion and condemnation; they wish to bring you to despair, so that at the moment of death you may not escape from their hands, and therefore they try to confuse you, so that afterwards when you are with them they may render to you of the part which is theirs. Oh, wretch! the dignity in which I placed you, you now see shining as it really is, and you know to your shame that you have held and used in such guilty darkness the substance of the holy Church, that you see yourself to be a thief, a debtor, who ought to pay his debt to the poor and the holy Church. Then your conscience represents to you that you have spent the money on public harlots, and have brought up your children and enriched your relations, and have thrown it away on gluttony and on many silver vessels and other adornments for your house. Whereas you should have lived in voluntary poverty.”

"Your conscience represents to you the divine office which you neglected, by which you fell into the guilt of mortal sin, and how even when you recited it with your mouth your heart was far from Me. Conscience also shows you your subjects, that is to say, the love and hunger which you should have felt towards nourishing them in virtue, giving them the example of your life and striking them with the hand of mercy and the rod of justice, and because you did the contrary your conscience and the horrible likeness of the Devil reproves you.”

"And if as a prelate you have given prelacies or any charge of souls unjustly to one of your subjects, that is, that you have not considered to whom and how you were giving it, the Devil puts this also before your conscience, because you ought to have given it, not on account of pleasant words, nor in order to please creatures, nor for the sake of gifts, but solely with regard to virtue, My honor and the salvation of souls. And since you have not done so you are reproved, and for your greater pain and confusion you have before your conscience and the light of your intellect that which you have done and ought not to have done, and that which you ought to have done and have not done.”

The reforms of St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross were due to the laxity in their religious order. Both were openly critical of such laxity and met with opposition because of their reforms.

The Norbertine Order was started because of the widespread laxity, and even debauchery among priests in St. Norbert’s day. St. Norbert exhorted and even rebuked his fellow priests, and they responded by attempting to assassinate him.

It is ludicrous to think that clerics are beyond correction, as if infallible by virtue of their office. It is disturbing that such a simplistic outlook exists after the egregious wrongdoing (and that is putting things mildly) of so many priests and even bishops was exposed because of the sex abuse scandal that rocked the Church in recent years.

The 1983 Code of Canon Law makes provisions for the laity to address their concerns about priests:

Canon 212:

§1. Conscious of their own responsibility, the Christian faithful are bound to follow with Christian obedience those things which the sacred pastors, inasmuch as they represent Christ, declare as teachers of the faith or establish as rulers of the Church.

§2. The Christian faithful are free to make known to the pastors of the Church their needs, especially spiritual ones, and their desires.

§3. According to the knowledge, competence, and prestige which they possess, they have the right and even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful, without prejudice to the integrity of faith and morals, with reverence toward their pastors, and attentive to common advantage and the dignity of persons.

I also include the following for consideration:

"When there is an imminent danger for the Faith, Prelates must be questioned, even publicly, by their subjects." ~ St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica II, II, q. 33, a. 4

"It is better that scandals arise than the truth be suppressed." ~ Pope St. Gregory the Great

"When circumstances make it necessary, it is not prelates alone who have to watch over the integrity of the faith." ~ Pope Leo XIII

"The road to hell is paved with the skulls of erring priests, with bishops as their signposts." ~ St. John Chrysostom (347-407), Doctor of the Church, generally considered the most prominent doctor of the Greek Church and the greatest preacher ever heard in a Christian pulpit.

"The floor of hell is paved with the skulls of bishops." ~ St. Athanasius

"The road to hell is paved with the skulls of bishops." ~ Saint John Eudes

"But how, I ask, does it happen that the saints, who live only for God, resist their ordination through a sense of their unworthiness, and that some run blindly to the priesthood, and rest not until they attain it by lawful or unlawful means? Ah. Unhappy men! Says St. Bernard, to be registered among the priests of God shall be for them the same as to be enrolled on the catalogue of the damned. And why? Because such persons are generally called to the priesthood, not by God, but by relatives, by interest, or ambition. Thus they enter the house of God, not through the motive a priest should have, but through worldly motives. Behold why the faithful are abandoned, the Church dishonored, so many souls perish, and with them such priests are also damned." ~ St. Alphonsus de Liguori (1696-1787), Doctor of the Church (Moral Theology), Founder of the Redemptorist congregation

Saints were even critical of homosexual priests and/or religious:

"Any cleric or monk who seduces young men or boys, or who is apprehended in kissing or in any shameful situation, shall be publicly flogged and shall lose his clerical tonsure. Thus shorn, he shall be disgraced by spitting into his face, bound in iron chains, wasted by six months of close confinement, and for three days each week put on barley bread given him toward evening. Following this period, he shall spend a further six months living in a small segregated courtyard in the custody of a spiritual elder, kept busy with manual labor and prayer, subjected to vigils and prayers, forced to walk at all times in the company of two spiritual brothers, never again allowed to associate with young men for purposes of improper conversation or advice." ~ St. Basil the Great (329-379), Bishop of Caesarea, Father of the Church, and one of the most distinguished Doctors of the Church.

"The befouling cancer of sodomy is, in fact, spreading so through the clergy or rather, like a savage beast, is raging with such shameless abandon through the flock of Christ, that for many of them it would be more salutary to be burdened with service in the world than, under the pretext of religion, to be enslaved so easily under the iron rule of satanic tyranny. It would be better for them to perish alone as laymen that, after having changed their attire but not their disposition, to drag others with them to destruction, as Truth itself testifies when It says, “But if anyone is a cause of stumbling to one of these little ones, it would be better for him to be drowned in the depths of the sea with a great millstone round his neck.” Unless immediate effort be exerted by the Apostolic See, there is little that, even if one wished to curb this unbridled evil, he could not check the momentum of its progress."

"Unquestionable, this vice, since it surpasses the enormity of all others, is impossible to compare with any other vice. Without fail it brings death of the body and destruction to the soul. It pollutes the flesh, extinguishes the light of the mind, expels the Holy Spirit from the temple of the human heart and gives entrance to the devil, the stimulator of lust. It leads to error, totally removes truth from the deluded mind, prepares a trap for the traveller and secures the pit and makes it impossible for the victim to escape. It opens up Hell and closes the gates Paradise, changes a citizen of the Heavenly Jerusalem into an heir of infernal Babylon, and turns a Heavenly star into chaff for eternal fire; it cuts off a member of the Church and hurls him into the depths of the devouring flames of Hell." ~ St. Peter Damian (1007 -1072), Doctor of the Church, Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia

It seems to me that the clericalist attitude that priests and bishops are beyond reproach is actually quite dangerous. The idea has a pietistic veneer, and those who hold it may be sincere, but do they realize that attitudes like that contributed to the mentality that allowed the priestly abuse scandals to stay under the radar for so long?

Do they realize that Catholics have an obligation to lead others to the truth and away from error?

Any thoughts?

Comments

[James]

"Do they realize that Catholics have an obligation to lead others to the truth and away from error?"

---

Thank you for this post, Thomistic.

You know - over the years - I have known many, many Catholics who will sit silently by while a priest engages in heresy, or come to his defense when he is caught stealing, or found to be sinning sexually. I've even seen it to a great degree with molestor priests. ("Oh, Father Bill is just so nice on Sunday.") A teenage boy got molested, but many, many will actually vote to allow things to go on normally (and for the priest to have continued access to teenage boys). Sometimes I think many have lost their minds - and conflated love with 'niceness.'

Folks - All Christians (Catholics included) are to condemn sin forthrightly - both with regard to themselves and with regard to others. If we cannot rebuke others with regard to sin - then sin and evil take over the world.

In today's society - this is by far one of its worst problems - many would like to teach us not to make 'judgments' about others' behavior. Where did that come from? Well, from people who don't want to have their actions judged of course!

Now - in politically correct society - people have come to believe that making a judgment about anything is wrong! That's how messed up we are as a society.

We are not allowed to judge a person as a whole, or with regard to their soul - for we know not what state we'd being in if we'd led that person's life. But we are to forthrightly name sin and condemn it, and to condemn people's sinful actions.

If we do not do this with priests - we will assuredly end up (and often have) with priests who believe they can sin and scandalize with impunity.

You always get more of what you tolerate.

James

[MJ]

Great post! Thank you so much! I'll be cross-posting it on my blog later today, with a link back here.

[Terry]

Wonderful post - I linked to it. Thanks for researching the subject so very well!

[Rita]

Thomistic,
Your post is excellent! Very illuminating. Even decent people get confused and think that being "nice" and "quiet" is charity. Let your post remind us all of that part of the Gospel which requires Catholics to defend their Faith not only with prayer, but by standing up to evil no matter where it comes from. The Church would not prevail if all were cloistered, and evil doesn't just go away when politely asked to.

[David1]

I agree completely that we may properly call attention to the sins of others, clergy included. We, of course, must do it from a heart of love and healing. If we rebuke from a heart of self-righteousness and ego, then we sin ourselves and we lead others to sin (this is especially powerful given the reach of the Internet). We must look inside to see our own imperfection and then, with humility, move forward.

If we choose to do this, then we have a responsibility to be skilled at leading others who sin to Christ. We must learn and discern the best method for any given person (or cause). Is it effective to write and speak loud denunciations? I’ll give you an example. In our Church we had a standard denunciation of abortion in one of the prayers of the faithful, but we added a phrase praying for the healing of those women who’d had an abortion and were frozen in guilt. As a result, one of the women came forward to go through our healing program. If we had simply denounced her, then she would have withdrawn further.

This was an example of a sin after the fact. In the case of abortion, our responsibility is to prevent it as well. What is the most effective way to prevent it? Do loud denunciations work? Do they bear fruit? Perhaps to some extent. But if we stop there, then I contend we are ineffective. Do our loud and angry denunciations of politicians change a single vote? What would be a more effective way of leading them to the truth?

Some will now accuse me of being soft. I’m not talking about being soft or being harsh. I trying to promote the idea of being effective.

The way Jesus interacted with the Samaritan woman at the well is a good model.

[Bob]

I have rebuked priests several times in my life. The look of complete shock on their faces told me I was doing the right thing.

I often think that the lack of challenging priests have led to sex scandals that never seem to go away.

[MJ]

I don't think that the never-ending sex scandals were caused or even lengthened by priests not being challenged.

Rather, I think our priesthood has been infiltrated.

Good priests (candidates) just don't DO stuff like that as a result of not being rebuked...

[James]

"I don't think that the never-ending sex scandals were caused or even lengthened by priests not being challenged.

Rather, I think our priesthood has been infiltrated."

---

It's both, MJ. The priesthood has been infiltrated by: homosexuals, sodomites, and priests and bishops virulently opposed to God's moral rules on sex.

Tons of priests (including many who would never sin sexually) - knew about and saw what was going on - and did nothing - because they were afraid.

Many bishops were afraid to rebuke and take action - because they were afraid of skeletons in their own closets.

Finally, most day-to-day Catholics couldn't rebuke priests on the homomolestation scandal, because they had no idea what was going on.

Sadly, the laity is now going to have to keep real close tabs on their priests - because the church hierarchy is not at all responsible enough to do so.

First step - run a google check on any priest you or your kids come in contact with.

James

[James]

Oh - and bottom line -

The Church will only be cured of its molestatory problem by refusing to ordain those with disordered sexual inclinations, and also - by ensuring that it ordains real men. Any real man (and any father) is nauseated and horrified by the idea of the molestation of youth. That normal reaction to such seems to be totally lacking among many priests and bishops. There is something profoundly and sickeningly wrong there.

James

[A Simple Sinner]

Catholics aren't, contrary to the machinations of some fundamentalists, practicioners of "presbyterolatry". They have sacred orders, they are not sacred cows.

The sacred nature of the priest as a recipient of Holy Orders demands respect to be sure, but no one ought to take this as giving the clergy "carte blanche" to do as they please without rebuke, correction or even gentle guiding suggestion.

[David1]

"Sacred cows"

Indeed, ordination should make one more of a servant. However, being human beings, it’s easy to see how egos can be stroked as parishioners give our priests respect and , in some cases, idolization. Deacons have less of a problem because their wives and kids keep them humble.

Being a priest is a very hard vocation. In the midst of running a small business (finance, real estate, personnel, etc.), ministering to people with all kinds of problems, being called out in the middle of the night to administer anointing, dealing with the criticism that comes after every homily, writing homilies every week, doing 6 Masses a Sunday, etc, etc – they have to somehow maintain their inner spiritual life. All of this without the treasure of a family. And in addition, they are tarred with the priests who have molested.

And so, when we find a good priest, we should double our time of support and prayer. And yes, deal with their mistakes and drifting as is appropriate.

[Jamie]

Of course Catholics should definately NOT remain silent, but instead of bashing these people, its better to do something about it and report it to a higher authority, than to just spread around ' how bad ' someone is.

Another thing which needs to be done is for us as faithful orthodox Catholics to show these people who go to confrences (such as the one 2 blog posts below) what a Mass should really consist of, and how the Catholic Church is supposed to be different from any other Church.

People are craving reverence and holiness, its obvious in the way different dioceses have young people interested in vocations. In the very orthodox dioceses, vocations are blooming like crazy! I wish it could be said for mine also.

God bless, and take CARE, Jamie

"Take C.A.R.E. of your soul! Confession, Adoration, Rosary and Eucharist!"

[Jessica]

Perhaps both sides are right and wrong on some things. I, however, must side with the reader. You can't deny that she quoted the EXACT WORDS of our Lord and God.

Even the bible verse which was posted:

“If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” (Matthew 18:15-17)

As the reader said... take it to a higher authority; namely, GOD. If I call my friend and complain about how someone is bothering me, is anyone going to be helped? JESUS wants to hear our complaints and problems. The greatest LOVE cares about us so much, that although He knows everything, He still wants to hear what is hidden so deeply in our hearts. Our prayers to Him are not simply mindless complaints, they are a plead for help. Can we honestly believe that if we come to the altar with a problem, that the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts of Jesus and Mary will NOT help us overcome it?

Yes, perhaps Cardinal Mahony has done some bad things. But what is going to be done about it if we just spread it around the internet? The Catholic Church certainly dones have a right to state their opinion, but not to talk of others in mindless gossip.
Let us go about our ways, as long as they do NOT interfere with the Holy Will of our God.

"Keep yourselves therefore from murmuring, which profiteth nothing, and refrain your tongue from detraction, for an obscure speech shall not go for nought: and the mouth that belieth, killeth the soul." -Wisdom 1:11

[James]

"Let us go about our ways, as long as they do NOT interfere with the Holy Will of our God."

---

Oh, please, Jessica. Do you think Cardinal Mahoney is not interfering with the holy will of God? He is a known and proved liar; he encourages people to believe sexual perversion is good and acceptable to God; he has housed molestors; he is heavily involved in moving molestors around, etc. etc.

As for talking about this stuff on the internet - I think it's great. It alerts more and more of the faithful of the ROT in the Church. It shows people that they are not alone in their horror and disgust. It also embarrasses those in the hierarchy - because they begin to realize that others are onto their machinations.

James

[Robert Kumpel]

I agree that the laity have a duty to question and even correct errant priests, but be forewarned. Some priests can be VERY vindictive. I know from personal experience.

[O]

Some fantastic thoughts in this thread. For me the best one is this "Take C.A.R.E. of your soul! Confession, Adoration, Rosary and Eucharist!"

The other gem for me was about Holy Orders not Sacred Cows.

[Michael Teissere]

Robert Kumpel, I agree also from personal experience! God Bless you Robert.

[Jimbo]

I don't think it's a sin to confront a priest or bishop if the situation warrants it; but I have been uncomfortable a few times at the degree of vitriol and gossip expressed at and about Bishop Brown. I think I distinguish between objective and personal attacks. Most of the time most people stay within what I deem proper limits.

[Thomistic]

I become uncomfortable with allegations that a a bishop or priest is homosexual when there isn't solid evidence to support such claims. I don't consider liberalism or dissent valid reasons for telling people with certainty that a priest or a bishop (or a pope!) has strong homosexual tendencies or engages in homosexual activity.

People should stick to what is known. If they teach heresy, you can say they teach heresy. If they teach heresy about homosexuality, you can say they teach heresy about homosexuality.

However, unless you have certain knowledge about someone's activities, you can't go around announcing that you suspect a person is a homosexual or a pederast, etc.

It is not wrong to point out the large number of bishops and priests caught in homosexual scandals or pederast scandals and help people connect the dots that there may be more unknown instances of this, but to run around naming names without concrete evidence violates the Eighth Commandment.

Pax,

Thomistic

[Jessica]

"Oh, please, Jessica. Do you think Cardinal Mahoney is not interfering with the holy will of God? He is a known and proved liar; he encourages people to believe sexual perversion is good and acceptable to God; he has housed molestors; he is heavily involved in moving molestors around, etc. etc. As for talking about this stuff on the internet - I think it's great. It alerts more and more of the faithful of the ROT in the Church... It also embarrasses those in the hierarchy - because they begin to realize that others are onto their machinations."
_____________________

Please re-read what I posted above:
Yes, perhaps Cardinal Mahony has done some bad things. But what is going to be done about it if we just spread it around the internet? The Catholic Church certainly does have a right to state their opinion, but not to talk of others in mindless gossip.

About what you said on the things Cardinal Mahony has/may have done; what is going to be accomplished if nobody speaks directly to him about it? Perhaps he will be influenced by seeing members of his diocese (and others) talking and rebuking his actions, but if he hasn't changed his ways by now, will he ever? Will he want to change for a Church that constantly gossips about how horrible a bishop he is?

The clergy may be having a hard time, but where does this problem originate? I don't know, maybe it's from the faithful telling them what 'not to do' rather than 'what to do'. Many Catholics today probably spend more time ranting on and on about the scandal in the Church rather than taking it to the altar and praying about it, turning us into nothing but hypocrites.

We have become so quick to judge others. No, let us not remain silent about our actions or theirs, but seek repentance for sins in prayer and sacrifice.

"Let us not therefore judge one another any more. But judge this rather, that you put not a stumblingblock or a scandal in your brother's way." -Romans 14:13

[Thomistic]

Jessica,

I have yet to see anyone here judging Cardinal Mahony. Judging him would mean saying that he is objectively in the state of mortal sin and is going to hell if he dies without repentance.

People are judging Cardinal Mahony's actions, not his soul.

St. Paul was talking about judging people's souls in the verse you cited.

You asked what benefit there is in exposing Cardinal Mahony's actions (and inactions) on the Internet.

Have you seen the footage from his Religious Education Congress this year and in years past?

Did you see the throngs of people applauding him and applauding the people who put the Congress together?

Are you aware that many speakers at that Congress are known dissenters who lead people astray from Church teaching on various matters of faith and morals?

Cardinal Mahony is confusing a lot of people at those functions.

Many people seem unaware of the fact that the Cardinal's actions and inaction are causing confusion.

Perhaps they think that since he is a Cardinal and has not been disciplined by the Holy See, that the Holy See is fine with the speakers he allows and the liturgical aberrations and abuses he encourages during his Masses (which violate repeated statements from Rome that such activities are to be reprobated).

People are confused. They may not be hearing the truth. We are supposed to tell them the truth. We are supposed to explain to them that even though he is a Cardinal and even though he has not been publicly disciplined or called out by name, the things he is doing and allowing violate Church liturgical norms and even Church teaching on matters of faith and morals.

Souls are being led astray, Jessica.

You need to help them see the truth.

You seem to have no problem correcting what you perceive to be our error.

Study the truth and help others not to be misled by Cardinal Mahony's actions and inaction.

One last thing: Cardinal Mahony has heard from people. He is well aware that people understand that he violates liturgical norms and that he allows speakers who are not in union with the Holy See at his religious Education Congress each year.

He was asked about it at this year's Congress. He shifted the blame to his subordinates and walked away.

He knows people have written to the Holy See about him. He has also received many letters from well meaning Catholics over the years.

I think you are right to say he may never change, although, we can hope he will have a conversion.

However, the goal isn't simply his conversion. The goal is to expose the things he does and let people know they are wrong. That may help some people not to be confused.

Here's something else to think about: if he does all these things even with people exposing them, how much further would he push the envelope if people said nothing?

Pax,

Thomistic

[Aaron]

Jessica:

The purpose of complaining about Cardinal Mahoney's behavior is to bring it to the attention of as many people as possible.

You say "perhaps [he] has done some bad things." Perhaps? Some bad things? The guy is engaged in a criminal conspiracy to protect child molesters. He has maliciously lied to his flock. He has squandered untold millions of dollars to protect himself from culpability.

This is not "mindless gossip." It is voiced outrage over despicable, criminal behavior by a human being--a man who is responsible for the spiritual lives of milions.

Furthermore, no one has been "quick" to judge Cardinal Mahoney. The history of his malfeasance is decades old. The Catholic faithful of the Archdiocese have exahusted their patience. His actions must be made known and he must go--now.

[James]

Sure Jessica. Let me answer your questions.

Telling the truth of what is going on in the Church over the internet helps to get people to know about and oppose evils that have infected the Church. Sunshine, as always, is the best disinfectant.

The whole homomolestation atrocity would be going on right now if not for the free and independent press.

And we are not talking about mindless gossip. The abuses of Mahoney's cardinalship (and priesthood) are well documented and rife. If you want to know about them - you can find out about them.

I WOULD hope that people speak to him directly about it, though I suspect that he limits access to himself. (Heck, I've written tons of letters to abusive bishops, and hardly ever received a reply.) Many people (I've seen on TV) have rebuked Mahoney; he ignores them. In other words, he has deliberately chosen evil and insists on it.

From where does the problem originate, you ask?

It's the same old, same old - which you can know from reading your Bible - starting right out with Adam and Eve. People are fallen, and they want to have their sin condoned - and they don't trust or love God enough to stop. Worse, many are infected by Satan, and seek to do evil on purpose and to get others to do so.

As for 'ranting' on about the scandal - TEN THOUSAND BOYS HAVE BEEN SODOMIZED AND RAPED AND HOMOMOLESTED BY PRIESTS AND BISHOPS IN THIS CHURCH (just in America - not to mention the tens of thousands in other countries). And the evil which allowed this to happen has NOT been fully expunged from the Church.

To name evil, and to condemn it is NOT hypocrisy. Nor is it ranting. It is the statement of the truth, with the purpose and the desire to expunge that evil.

I do try very hard to repent of my own sins.

We are not to judge others' souls; only their actions and thoughts. That is what is going on here.

Mahoney is an abusive and evilly-infected bishop. He needs to be removed, so that he does not spread his evil to even more people. By not removing him, the leaders of the Church become complicit in his evil.

James

[James]

The teen boy who decides to engage in homosodomy will, 50% of the time, have AIDs by the time he is 25 years of age. He will, on average, lose 25 years of his life - because of that decision.

If even one teen boy decided that it was OK to engage in such perversion - because Cardinal Mahoney and his minions told him such is OK, then Mahoney would be a murderer.

I would not be at all surprised if this has happened, many times over.

James

[Luis]

It's time to clean house with a clean cloth and not with a soiled one. If we are to allow the same bishops who allowed their clergy to take the innocence from so many children to decide what actions should be taken to move forward from this, we are fooling ourselves. A soiled cloth only spreads the dirt around giving the illusion that it is cleaning while a clean cloth will take dirt not even noticable to the naked eye. Its time Rome does their part in replacing bishops who have deeply hurt our Church. There are many priests who have lived holy, worthy lives who can be raised to the leadership positions of our Church so the true healing can begin.