By Nicole C. Brambila
Desert Sun
April 18, 2010
http://www.mydesert.com/article/20100418/LIFESTYLES06/4180308/1026/NEWS12/Sex-scandal-fails-to-rock-local-Catholics-faith
News that Pope Benedict XVI may have failed in the past to swiftly address priests accused of sexually abusing children has challenged the Catholic Church.
But that hasn't necessarily undermined the Catholic faith, several Coachella Valley residents told The Desert Sun.
Rose Sweet sees God's hand in exposing the sexual abuse.
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| The Rev. Eliseo Lucas, pastor of Sanctuary of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Mecca, says he understands how hard it is to get his Latino parishioners to open up to him. |
"I love the church," said Sweet, a lifelong Catholic who attends Sacred Heart in Palm Desert.
"I'm never gonna leave it. And I'm thankful this is all happening because we get a chance for healing."
A Catholic author who focuses on marriage and healing after divorce, Sweet says she's followed the reports of sexual abuse by the clergy since she started reading Pope John Paul II's book, "Theology of the Body," about 10 years ago.
"I really have a heart for people whose lives are wounded," Sweet said. "People don't understand that the church really is there to help despite the bad that you can find."
She calls claims that Benedict covered up sex abuse scandals before becoming the pontiff nonsense.
"For years, he was the one who said 'Get the stink out,'" she said. "Everyone hated him. That's how he earned the name 'God's Rottweiler.'"
The priests accused of abusing children, Sweet said, are perpetrators and victims of a "sex-saturated" culture.
"It's strengthened my resolve because I see a bigger picture. I see God's loving hand purifying the church."
'Angry at the wrong people'
They called him "Father Hollywood."
Charismatic and charming, attractive and a heck of a fundraiser for the Orange County Diocese, the nickname for Monsignor Michael Harris stuck.
Harris left the priesthood in 2001 as part of a $5.2 million settlement claiming sexual abuse of a student. Harris, who has never been criminally charged, has denied the claims.
David Price claimed in a lawsuit that he was 14 when Harris first molested him during a home visit to console Price about his dying stepmother.
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