BishopAccountability.org
	Our Catholic Brothers and Sisters Are Hurting By Gary Macdougall The Guardian October 10, 2009 http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?sid=293796&sc=102 Many members of the Catholic church on P.E.I. are hurting these days over the seemingly endless parade of clergymen facing lurid charges of sexual misconduct. It seems that the embattled church just gets one controversy dealt with when another pops up. It reminds me of the challenge firefighters face in battling major forest fires, in which blazes break out here and there spontaneously. Case in point the news surrounding former Antigonish, N.S. bishop Raymond Lahey. Not long ago he negotiated a landmark sexual abuse settlement surrounding the inappropriate actions of priests in the diocese. Case closed right? Time to move on and allow healing? Far from it. Just last week the same Bishop Lahey, on his return to Canada from a trip abroad, was charged with possessing and importing child pornography. The Catholic community has been reeling ever since, with many of its leaders speaking out in frustration at the misdeeds of the few which are bringing so much shame to the church. All this comes on the heels of a number of other instances and convictions over the past several years involving priests molesting children, the most infamous being the abuse which occurred at the Mount Cashel orphanage in Newfoundland. It's all enough to make your ordinary, God-fearing Catholic start questioning his or her faith. I should point out I am not an ordinary, God-fearing Catholic; rather I'm an ordinary Protestant. But as far as I'm concerned, most Catholics are like most Protestants. Or for that matter, like most Muslims, Jews or Hindus. At some point in their life they came of age and were informed by their parents that they were a member of such and such faith. Let's face it, people don't choose their religion after years of study and analysis, rather it is handed down by their parents. Those that actually choose a particular religion usually do so because of some form of pressure: peer, marital or the pressure that results from a disagreement over a personal issue. I don't want to sound too simplistic when it comes to matters of the faith. I fully appreciate there are some serious and relevant disagreements between religions when it comes to certain beliefs and practices. But when it comes to the Christian religion - the only one I know a little bit about - I believe that it's pretty basic. It is based on the birth, teachings, crucifixion and, most importantly, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And, of course, our response to that. So having said that, I think all Christians are on the same team, we're just wearing different jerseys. So any Protestant who thinks his or her religion is somehow superior to the Catholic one because of the actions of Bishop Lahey is mistaken. Bishop Lahey is not the Catholic Church, he is a disciple of the church, albeit a fallen one these days. Speaking in historic St. Dunstan's Basilica in Charlottetown last Sunday, Father Danny Wilson echoed that. "In the end ... my faith is not in a bishop. It's in Jesus. The faith of the church is in Jesus Christ..." A Charlottetown minister had this to say about the issue of the clergy and the church. "Jonathan Swift (of Trinity College and St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and Gulliver's Travels fame) hit the nail on the head hundreds of years ago when he said, 'The real miracle of Christianity is that God has survived the best efforts of those paid to represent him.'" Personally I think the Catholic church has to make some fundamental changes in the way it chooses its clergy. It has a responsibility to rid the church of those who are harming it and protect the innocent worshippers who walk in the doors. And, of course, it has other challenges such as declining attendance. But what church and faith doesn't have its challenges these days? But one thing is for certain, approximately half of Islanders are Catholics. So that means the other half of us should be supporting our Catholic brothers and sisters in the hope they find the strength to keep the faith in their church and its teachings. Gary MacDougall is managing editor of The Guardian. He can be reached by telephone at (902) 629-6039 or by email at gmacdougall@theguardian.pe.ca.
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