By Charles Lewis
National Post
October 30, 2009
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=2161965
[text of the bishop's speech]
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| Archbishop Thomas Collins at the Cardinal's Dinner yesterday in Toronto. |
Scandals involving clergy should be viewed as dramatic exceptions to the day-to-day reality of the Roman Catholic Church, but problems will be inevitable because of the frailty of human beings, Archbishop Thomas Collins told a charitable dinner in Toronto last night.
According to his prepared remarks, Archbishop Collins told 1,700 people attending the Cardinal's Dinner, the largest Catholic charitable event in Canada, that all of society has to reflect on how a multibillion dollar pornography industry is sustained.
In September, Raymond Lahey, head of the Diocese of Antigonish, was travelling through the Ottawa airport when he was pulled aside by customs officials. A few weeks later he was charged by Ottawa police with possession of child pornography. Bishop Lahey resigned his post without explanation prior to the allegations being made public.
"The pain of scandal comes first of all because the fact of the evil itself is shocking, especially when it involves the abuse of the young and the vulnerable. To think of the multi-billion dollar industry of sexual exploitation is to be enraged; it is a scourge upon our society," Archbishop Collins said.
"Although those who pause to reflect will recognize that this massive evil industry is hardly being sustained by the patronage of the clergy of any faith, if a priest or bishop engages in this iniquity, the outrage is all the more intense, and rightly so, for we who are ordained are called by God, and entrusted with the service of His people; any abuse of that trust is a betrayal of our vows to God, and of the people we are consecrated to serve."
He added that God works through "frail humans, and has always done so, and always will" to form his priesthood and because the Church is a human institution, scandal will occur.
"Scandals are like airplane crashes; they are dramatic exceptions to the fundamental reality," he said. "They do immense harm and they challenge us to work more effectively to be sure that they do not happen in the future."
It was the first time Archbishop Collins had spoken about the charges against Bishop Lahey.
Neil MacCarthy, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Toronto, said the Archbishop chose last night to make his remarks because of the size of the gathering and the fact that the Cardinal's Dinner attracts members from all religious groups.
Contact: clewis@nationalpost.com
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