This was in today’s Office of readings.  It is taken from Psalm 50;

But God says to the wicked:

“But how can you recite my commandments and take my covenant on your lips, you who despise my law and throw my words to the winds,

You who see a thief and go with him; who throw in your lot with adulterers, who unbridle your mouth for evil and whose tongue is plotting crime,

You who sit and malign your brother and slander your own mother’s son.  You do this, and should I keep silent? Do you think I am like you?

Mark this, you who never think of God, lest I seize you and you cannot escape; a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me and I will show God’s salvation to the upright.”

Than can be applied to many individuals and groups today.  One thinks of the abortion issue and the men and women politicians who call themselves Catholic and still disregard God’s and the Church’s teaching that abortion, (reason for it does not matter), is a grave sin.  They truly throw God’s words to the wind.

We can also apply it to a slew of groups that are viscerally undesirable like discriminatory groups, (white supremacists, black panthers, anti-Semites et.al.) Nazi’s, Fascists, Holocaust deniers, anyone who is in direct opposition to/with the truth, even when documented, and as revealed by God.

Many, many men within the Church fall into this category. Priests who molested, clergy including bishops who covered the crime of sexual abuse up, those who attacked and continue to attack victims are guilty of grave sins against life and charity.  Those who tried to downplay the scope of the scandal are also guilty of trying to wright revisionist history.  The number of guilty clergy percentage wise is low but the scandal touched every diocese in the world so it touched every bishop in those diocese.  Even one rogue, molesting priest is too many but priests are people too and are under the influence of original sin.  THAT IS NOT AN EXCUSE.

There seem to be many types of Catholics in all of this.  Those who believe all the denials and the spin the Church is trying desperately to get taken seriously, and hence they attack the victims.  Those who have left the Church over this, some of whom were looking/waiting for a reason to leave. Those who just do not care because they do not see it as effecting them.   Those who will never believe anything a priest or a bishop says. Those trying to get the scandal taken seriously and who are trying to change the thought process/ mindset of the hierarchy so that they recognize the cover-up, (of any Church scandal), is a sin.  And there are the people who feel badly about this but won’t or think they can’t do anything about it.  I’m sure there are more groups and sub-groups that I’m forgetting but even writing this much has given me a wicked headache.

Who decided it was better to fight about this and to lie about this rather than do the right thing and face this head on and endure a firestorm that would have been over quickly?  Instead the firestorm is still raging 10 years after the abuse became known.