December 02, 2005

To 'purify' the church

Toledo Blade

THE Vatican directive issued recently barring gays from the priesthood was an apparent attempt to address the scourge of the sexual abuse scandal that has shamed the church. But in many respects it was a cop-out.

If the document, begun years ago by Pope John Paul II, is held up as a way to "purify" the church, as Benedict XVI suggests, the focus of the church's "purification" efforts are misdirected.

The alleged and admitted sexual abuse by clerics at parishes throughout the country and around the world was perpetrated by pedophiles - not homosexuals - who preyed on trusting children. What made the abomination worse was the tendency of the church hierarchy to, in many cases, overlook the sins of the Fathers and allow them to continue in parish ministries.

Posted by kshaw at December 2, 2005 08:24 PM