In reference to the scandal (should we be doing something?)

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And God bless you for all you do for your Church! This is heartbreaking. Any chance there’d be broad support in your community to do a thorough and independent review of your parish’s activities?

No one person can do this alone. But, together, it becomes possible.
 
Yes! 1. pray, 2. fast, and 3. act! (Be sure to do the first two first!)

Here is a quote from Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen:

“Who is going to save our Church? Not our bishops, not our priests and religious. It is up to the people. You have the minds, the eyes, the ears to save the Church. Your mission is to see that your priests act like priests your bishops like bishops, and your religious act like religious.”
1972
 
Bingo! And that’s been our responsibility as the Church since it was instituted! ☺️
 
Why do you suppose NCR suspended all comments on this article?
Well, leaving out those in the church who are neutral, does it look to you like the Catholic Church is divided into two factions - pro-gay lobby and anti-gay lobby ?
 
Prayer and fasting will bring us the aid of the Holy Spirit. All of us are gifted in different ways and we can act using our gifts.
 
Doesn’t part of it go to the Vatican though? How can I direct it to only go to the Parish?
 
I think if you would write on the check or on the envelope exactly where you want it to go to. Write you want it to go to the Parish or Diocese or both only. Most of the donations go to the parish with a percentage to the diocese and smaller percentage to the Vatican. Then like my diocese we have an Annual Bishops Appeal.
 
We can fast, pray and make sacrifices for the victims of he abuse, especially the ones who e left the church because of it, and in reparation for the sins of the Church Hierarchy.
 
Certainly we should do something.

Matthew 18:15 gives clear biblical evidence that we aren’t just supposed to pray about a problem but approach the sinner directly and if they don’t listen, you keep going until the whole church knows.

So, we should listen to our brothers and sisters in the church when they are aware of some wrongdoing.

Specifically, I know that an Archbishop who was a priest in my Diocese was recently convicted in court of withholding evidence against a priest and he wanted to retain his position until he could appeal the judgement. There was an outcry among the Catholic community and society in general and he was pressured to resign. He has been sentenced to home detention for less than a year at his sister’s house. What a punishment!

So yes, we definitely have to give people a hearing and let the truth come to light. Be a bastion for the truth!
 
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It is worth remembering here the command to “Be not afraid!”

It is courageous thing to stand up and speak. We have an example in Jesus of what can happen when you do.

But this is why gossip is so dangerous. Gossip is what happens when you aren’t fully committed to the truth. You don’t want to stand up and be crucified for what you are saying. You want to damage someone’s reputation without confronting them directly. That is not the right course of action.

To speak the truth you have to be very confident that it IS the truth. And be willing to face the consequences.

But again, we shouldn’t fear, because the gates of hell will not prevail against us. Break them down!
 
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I would like to know as well. Many of us are pregnant, breastfeeding or have health problems so fasting in the traditional sense may not be physically possible. I also can see how fasting with growing children and teens is not a good thing either. For those who cannot do a bread and water fast, what should we be doing? I have been fasting, but as a pregnant AND nursing mom with diabetes, I have been advised not to continue that. What more can we do?
 
It seems many people are overlooking the fact that evil exists outside of the Catholic Church before people get pitchforks and start burning torches, I believe the devil is very very clever in his scheming to spread disunity and fear. People seem to automatically focus on our Church and lap up any allegations especially the media, which I believe is riddled with lies and corruption. We need to pray in these dark times, and hold each others hands so to speak.
 
I don’t disagree completely with what you are saying. When evil is perpetuated by individuals in leadership positions, in a systemic fashion, and covered up by the institution that is supposed to be the One True Church and Bride of Christ, the impact is much greater and more disturbing than when a secular institution doed similar things. Yes things happen everywhere, but as Catholics we SHOULD be better than that. We should be leading by example, not seeking to excuse or lessen the current filthy situation because ”everybody else is doing it too”. I agree we need to band together and support one another through this.
 
While prayer and fasting does help, I agree that it’s time for parishioners to take action in order to identify these bad apples and force them out.
I rarely chime in (I’m more of a reader), but feel the need to respond as this latest scandal has weighed heavily on me. Looking back on my Catholic upbringing (Catholic elementary school through college), I witnessed many people (both lay and religious) behaving badly.
I reported the worst offenders at the time, which we know now probably accomplished little. Looking back on it as a father, there were a lot of subtle clues that indicated more was going on than I originally thought.
I’m sure that I’m not the only one who has felt this way.
As parishioners, we need to demand more accountability from our Catholic leaders, even though they seem unwilling or unable to provide it.
Perhaps it’s time for the lay people to form an independent watchdog group to increase accountability?
If there was a website where lay people could provide reviews of their clergy and others in positions of authority, it would bypass attempts to hide a bad apple.
With enough bad reviews, private investigators could be hired to gather evidence to bring the predators and those who cover for them to trial.
I know that from now on, I will be much more vocal when I see behaviors that seem to run counter to our faith.
 
I haven’t heard of any particular type of fasting being recommended, but I do know that there are all kinds of fasting that are suitable. For example: fasting from dessert, from TV, from second helpings of food,

For me, I am led also to the fasting of the eyes in the supermarket. If there are four things on my list I just look down and go directly to those aisles and get them, instead of looking at all the pretty labels, getting sidetracked to buy an unnecessary snack, etc. 🙂 and remembering to say a prayer while I do that.
 
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Of course you should not fast in a way to harm your health or your child’s needs!
 
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