After
all that we have heard in the last few days about the terrible abuse
that happened in the state of Pennsylvania, it is hard to know what
to say, and in truth it is not easy to stand here before you during a
time of such terrible shame and pain. However, I want to share a few
thoughts with you which I believe are important.
A
few years ago I was listening to the news reporting similar abuse in
Ireland and I noticed at one stage the news anchor, Sharon Ní
Bheoláin, said to the reporter Joe Little, ‘So is there any hope
at all for the Church...?’ I can’t remember exactly what he said
in reply, but he began by saying, ‘Well there is very little
[hope], but...’ When I heard this question and response it struck
me that the question they had just asked, and the response given were
both very human. From a human point of view there is little or no
hope. It seems to be the end of the Church as we know it. How could a
Church survive with this kind of thing going on? Why would any of us
want to be part of it? However, it also reminded me that the Church
is not a human organisation, it is from God. If it were a human
organisation it would have disappeared centuries ago.
Our
life-time is not the first time that the Church has been battered by
scandals, and no doubt it won’t be the last either. To me the very
fact that the Church is still here at all is the strongest indication
that it is from God. What else could survive centuries of scandals,
bad practice, corruption, etc? Another thing for sure is that I would
not want to be a part of this Church, or continue to be a priest, if
I believed that it was merely of human origin. At times like this it
makes me question why I am a priest, but then I am reminded that it
is God I am trying to serve and it is the message of Jesus Christ
that I am trying to pass on, and so why should I be afraid?
The
more I continue to try and work as a priest, the more I am absolutely
convinced of the power of God at work because there are far too many
odds against us being able to survive, and yet we do. In spite of all
the terrible things that have happened people continue to believe;
men and women continue to dedicate their lives to God and people put
up with all kinds of difficulties. Another thing that continues to
amaze me is what in religious terms we call ‘grace.’ In other
words, the power of God at work in the most unexpected ways and at
the most unexpected times. When all hope seems to be gone, doors
open, things happen, people respond. That is the power of God and I
have seen it enough times to be convinced beyond doubt that God is
working in and through this too.
The
truth is that it is the mercy of God that allows all these scandals
to come out, because God could not allow us to continue with all this
poison under the surface. How could there be any fruit in the
Church with all this sickness? God is getting rid of the sickness and
it is painful, but it is absolutely essential that it happens. You
can’t leave diseased flesh in a person’s body. It has to be
removed.
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| Benedictine monastery in Subiaco, Italy |
There
is a small town north of Rome called Subiaco, where St. Benedict
lived for three years in a cave. When I visited the monastery there I
saw a quotation on the wall which read: ‘Why do you sit in the
darkness seeking the light? But persevere, because the stars can only
be seen when it is dark.’ Sometimes it is necessary to go through
times of darkness to be able to find the light again properly. Let us
remember too that it is God whom we believe in and God in whom we put
our trust. And even though we will hear of scandals and other
terrible things, God continues to work in and through his Church,
because it is His Church and that is what we must stay focused on.
One out of the twelve apostles betrayed Jesus—that’s 8.5%—but
Jesus didn’t give up on the Apostles, because most of them were
good. I was also heartened to read that since 2002, when the Church
began to change its policies regarding abuse, there have been almost
no abuse scandals. That is encouraging.
The
message of Jesus Christ is one of hope. ‘I am the Light of the
world.’ That is the light we focus on, not the messages of
darkness, but the light that comes from God.
‘The
light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.’
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