BishopAccountability.org
	Faith Steels His Resolve Philly Burbs May 22, 2011 http://www.phillyburbs.com/blogs/news_columnists/phil_gianficaro/faith-steels-his-resolve/article_ae993419-380c-5a64-a129-acf14d969cf8.html As David Friel neared his life's journey to the priesthood, he felt the ground beneath him begin to tremble. In January, and only five months before he was to be ordained, as he was on Saturday by Justin Cardinal Rigali, archbishop of the Diocese of Philadelphia, Friel was shocked by reports of a grand jury's findings that 37 priests accused of having sexually abused children or other allegations were allowed to remain active in the archdiocese. Just one month later, the ground beneath his feet began to crumble again. A second grand jury accused Cardinal Rigali of failing to stop the sexual abuse of children more than five years after the first grand jury report in 2005 had documented abuse by more than 50 priests. The widespread cover-up of predatory priests rumbled beneath Friel's feet. He needed something to hold on to so he wouldn't fall. It wasn't necessary for him to look far. He held onto that which has never allowed him to fall. His faith in God. "Initially I was shocked to hear the news about the abuse," said Friel, 25, of Furlong, a graduate of Our Lady of Mount Carmel School in Doylestown and Archbishop Wood in Warminster. "It was only a few months before my ordination." The stories of abuse caused Friel several moments of great sorrow: sorrow for the abuses themselves, for those involved, and for his being powerless to reverse those terrible crimes. "I concluded that I could only pray for the wounds I know are there," he said. "What times like these call for are stepping closer to, not away from, the Lord." The sexual abuses by priests in the archdiocese surprised Friel, causing him to wonder about the power of faith. "I wondered how people like me were not swayed away from the church," he said. "It's a source of wonder to me that young men entered the seminary after this happened." But as Friel collected his thoughts and feelings, he realized that there was no better or urgent time for him to be entering the priesthood. "To become a priest now, to bring that feeling of Christ to a local church, is a challenge that I'm thrilled to meet," he said. "As someone coming into the ministry now, I think my contribution to the solution is going to be fidelity. There's nothing more I can do to be helpful than to be faithful to His call. A lack of fidelity has caused these issues in the Church. Renewing that fidelity can resolve the matter. "It's really a challenge to holiness." Call it what you will - a feeling, a consideration, an idea, a calling, whatever - but it arrived at the doorstep of David Friel's soul early on. It tapped him on the shoulder when he was 10 years old and a student at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, where he credits the late Rev. John J. Davids for showing him the blueprint. "I always thought being a priest would be a really neat job," Friel said. "And although I also considered a career in journalism - I wrote for the school paper at Wood, where our moderator was (Intelligencer staff writer) Bill Devlin - the pull to become a priest grew stronger and stronger. "We had a highly respected priest at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Father Davids. He was so joyful, human and evidently holy at the same time. He was invested in the lives of the people of the parish. I saw in him all the things a priest could be." After a few years at Archbishop Wood, Friel knew. He visited St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood twice during high school, and during the summer worked at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish cleaning the school and tending to the cemetery grounds. "By the time I was a senior, I was sure," he said. "When I visited the seminary again that year, it was more of an overwhelming sense of peace, not just a visit." When David Friel delivers vocation talks throughout the region, he tells his audience he doesn't feel pressured to spread the word of the Lord. "I tell them there is no weight placed on me to do this," he said. "On the contrary, by doing the will of God I feel completely free. I stress to children that whatever they're called to do, whether it be the priesthood or marriage, fidelity to Christ will make them happy and free. Having faith in God will not let them down." Or let them fall.
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