By Monica Graham
The Chronicle-Herald
October 5, 2009
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/1146044.html
ANTIGONISH — The parish priest at the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish compared the accusations of possessing child pornography against Bishop Raymond Lahey to his own experience with "sudden unexpected death."
"I feel the same way now," Rev. Tom MacNeil said during his homily at the 11 a.m. mass at St. Ninian's Cathedral in Antigonish.
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| Parishioners leave St. Ninian’s Cathedral in Antigonish on Sunday after 11 a.m. mass. Photo by Monica Graham |
The Diocese of Antigonish operates out of the church offices.
Shock, grief, bewilderment and pain were among his emotions, Father MacNeil told a congregation that, by some estimates, was down by about 20 to 25 per cent from the usual attendance.
Just as after a death, he said those emotions can't be denied but must be handled. Nor is there an answer to the question, "Why?" he said.
His statements echoed those of Archbishop Anthony Mancini of the Diocese of Halifax, whose letter to Nova Scotians was read in churches across the province Sunday.
In the letter, the archbishop referred to the broken hearts and confusion of clergy and churchgoers, and he referred to his own "poverty of spirit" in the face of "unacceptable, shocking and possible criminal sexual behaviour."
Archbishop Mancini urged the faithful to focus on a biblical text he had seen at a church in Sydney River while meeting Ron Martin, the man who had launched a class-action lawsuit against the church over sexual abuse against children, a lawsuit Bishop Lahey had been instrumental in settling.
The text read: "Be still and know that I am God."
Archbishop Mancini also urged the people to recognize that bishops, priests and deacons are human and subject to human failings.
The church is "not an assembly only for the perfect," but for the forgiven, he said, encouraging "those who can" to continue coming to church.
Archbishop Mancini's letter was released to the media Sunday afternoon.
A spokeswoman for the archbishop said he had spoken in the morning and would not speak to reporters for the rest of the day.
"Now he's finished. We'll see what tomorrow brings," Marilyn Sweet said.
"The letter meant nothing," St. Ninian's parishioner Teresa MacCormack said after mass.
She said she was in too much shock to comprehend it and the archbishop is also stunned by the circumstances.
"That poor man (the archbishop) is nearly out of his mind over this."
She said she recognized that Bishop Lahey is innocent until proven guilty in a court. But she said she is worried about what might happen to the church if he is proven guilty.
"He's such a brilliant man with such beautiful homilies," she said, adding that she admired Bishop Lahey for his years spent fighting for the people abused by clergy.
He was a shepherd to the people, making the situation embarrassing as well as shocking, she said.
Ms. MacCormack said she believes more negative secrets will come out and church members are already bitter about paying for a multimillion-dollar sexual abuse settlement.
"I don't know how they'll keep it going," she said, nodding to the big stone cathedral. "I say, let Rome pay."
The scandals will drive some away, she said. But she said it won't affect her faith because she has a personal relationship with God that transcends the role of the church.
"It's not the bishop who's the head of my faith. It's Christ," said Al Balawyder, a retired professor at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish.
Bishop Lahey appeared to be "a kind man, at the service of the people," Mr. Balawyder said. "It's going to take time. It's not going to heal immediately.
"There are a lot of misconceptions about the whole thing. People think that all priests are like that, and that the church is falling apart. It isn't."
The church is made up of ordinary people, but there's a perception that a bishop has to be perfect, he said.
"That's what makes this so painful," he said.
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