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	Reporting on the Catholic Church While Keeping Faith By Tom McNiff Columnist May 2, 2010 http://www.ocala.com/article/20100502/COLUMNISTS/5021017/1402/NEWS Perhaps the most difficult thing for a journalist is to report on issues about which they have deep, firmly held beliefs. When you see events charging in a direction that offends your personal belief system, it takes a supreme act of will to choke back your emotion and avoid penning a critical story. And when current events reinforce your beliefs, it is difficult to avoid being a cheerleader. It is those moments when a reporter or editor's ability to be an impartial, unbiased recorder of events is tested. For me, the story about Catholic priests sexually abusing young people in the latter half of the 20th century is one of those moments. You see, growing up Catholic was a wonderful thing for me. I loved the structure of the church, the deep symbolism of its rituals, its unfaltering belief in a God who loves us so much that He sacrificed his Son to atone for our miserable failings and pave the way to eternal life. Even at a young age, I was aware of the chaos of the world - the political scandal of Watergate, the horror of war in Vietnam, religious and ethnic hate. And through it all, the rock-solid constants of the Catholic Church - Sunday Mass, the sacraments, the study of my faith at Catholic school - reminded me that an all-knowing and all-loving God was very much present and in control. So when the abuse scandal hit, I was devastated, to say the least. Like some Catholics, I wished it to be untrue, or at least grossly exaggerated. It was not to be. The abuse scandal has erupted with new vigor in the past year because of fresh revelations of abuse a generation or two ago and of the failures of the Catholic Church's leadership to deal assertively with the abusers. More than one fellow Catholic has told me they believe the press is exaggerating the story and has asked me why the Star-Banner continues to splash it on the front page from time to time It's just a handful of priests, they say, or they suggest that the incidents were very isolated. Oh, how I want to believe they're right. I want any good reason to kick this story to the curb. But I can't. Not yet. Their arguments fail to address the key issue - institutional indifference. Church officials often protected the abusers or just moved them around, giving them opportunities to commit their despicable crimes again. But there is ample evidence that the Catholic Church has begun to deal decisively with the abusers and with the internal culture that permitted these atrocities to occur. Church leaders complicit in the cover-ups are being run off. The Vatican has ordered bishops to turn in priests who abuse. These are all hopeful signs. In case you're wondering, no, the scandal has not caused me to turn my back on the Catholic Church. Not long ago, a letter writer asked essentially this question: Why would a Catholic continue to support a church that is embroiled in a sordid sex abuse scandal? Here's my answer: We Catholics believe the church is not simply a confederation of people who get together to pray. We believe it was ordained by Christ for our good and the good of the world. We understand that men and women - fallible beings that we are - do evil things. But we don't put our faith in them; we put it in God. And when the church's members - even its leaders - stray from the path of good, we stand strong and help them find their way back, the same way we would for a family member who falls. You don't abandon those you love.
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