January 11, 2005

Uneasy about the church, not about faith

CALIFORNIA
Orange County Register

MINERVA CANTO
Register columnist

mcanto@ocregister.com

The envelopes arrive every month, a gentle reminder for my husband and me to attend weekly church service and make a donation to our Catholic parish.

Each time, I put the envelope in a handy place, thinking this just may be the week that we go. But we don't go and months pass.

Finally, last week, we heeded the call, resolving to take advantage of a new year and a fresh start. Maybe to atone for our failure to go on a regular basis, I tuck a few more dollars than I usually would in the envelope.

At the end of Mass, I'm wondering what took me so long to return to church when an announcement is made about an upcoming Mass of reconciliation for the victims who were sexually abused by priests, nuns and other church leaders.

I don't give it much thought until later in the week, when I read newspaper reports detailing the $100 million settlement along with a long list of the people accused in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange.

And this is when it hits me. The magnitude of the abuse alleged by dozens of victims at churches.

Posted by kshaw at January 11, 2005 08:01 AM