CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Sun-Times
February 4, 2006
BY SUE ONTIVEROS SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST
This should be a time of such promise for the Catholic Church in Chicago. Last month, we heard about an innovative new evangelization program that was set to kick off within the Archdiocese of Chicago. New ideas were being put into action to draw fallen-away Catholics back into the fold. Gosh, the plan sounded good. I can't be the only Catholic here who felt like we were getting ready to turn a corner. Maybe with the right message of faith, those empty pews in our churches would fill up again. Maybe we could shore up our Catholic schools, those wonderful places of education, so that keeping them open wouldn't be such a struggle every year.
I was so optimistic about this season of renewal that I wanted to find out where and when some of these talks were being held so I could coax a few friends to come along and hear what was being said. It all sounded like a venture so filled with hope.
Boy, do I feel like a naive dope. Instead, here we find ourselves with the same old problems. It's as if the boys in the frat house are once again protecting one of their own and trying to sweep dreadful problems under the rug.
I am so angry with the leaders of the archdiocese, these men who just don't seem to see how their inaction, their dragging of the collective feet, is destroying our church. How many times do they think we can pick up the pieces?