Sometimes, when you don’t know the facts about something, (as recently demonstrated by the bishops of the United States), it is more prudent to keep quiet and not to broadcast your collective ignorance to the world. This orational diarrhea is rampant in the world, the news media and in the Church. It is both sad and dangerous. Why take into account facts when raw emotion can rule the day?

It is ironic that when it comes to the priest sexual abuse crises, and it’s still a crisis, bishops and their ilk first tried to inflame the emotions of people by blaming others for their own failings. Then they attempt to fan the flames of discontent trying to further make themselves look like the victims when all along they failed to do the GOSPEL thing.

How sad that it is necessary for the laity to try to educate themselves when it comes to the faith and what is needed by all of us to get to an afterlife, an eternity with God.
Global climate change, immigration, open or closed borders ARE NOT ISSUES THAT WILL SEND US TO HELL! Love of neighbor has NOTHING to do with putting ourselves or our country in danger. Prudence, a Cardinal Virtue, can and should be operated in this instance. Remember not everyone who showed up at Ellis Island was able to get into the USA…some people were sent back home for a variety of reasons. There were people who lied about what it was that they did in Europe during World War II, working in concentration camps for instance, they were stripped of their American Citizenship and sent back to Europe for trial. What would open boarders bring?

The way that we are called to love our neighbor is to provide for our neighbor not blindly kowtow to the illegality that finds its way into human trafficking and drug smuggling. In the parable of the good Samaritan the lesson is to provide for the less fortunate. Even though the Samaritan was moved with pity he did not take the victim of robbers to his home. He provided for his care. That is/was the GOSPEL thing.

When the bishops tried to elevate the emotions of the laity in reference to the sex scandal, there have been many, they pulled out hot button issues such as not having money for the poor and needy, (cue the violins). This was as if to say that the victims of priests abnormal sexual predilections and the subsequent cover-up of this non-gospel travesty were not needy.  How offensive and insulting.

Of course it was drummed into the heads of the laity that all we victims wanted was money. Of course lawyers and reporters were also to blame.  The most disturbing thing about this campaign was that it worked on more than a few of the laity.  Stir up the emotions of the people and they cannot think clearly and as it turns out facts do not matter.

It seems that not only facts do not matter to the bishops of the USA but neither does the Gospel of Jesus Christ.