Year of the Clergy and the “Sins of the Fathers”

The Year of the Clergy and the ensuing sexual scandal committed by some priests is almost a cause for alarm. The media are actively exposing this heinous crime amidst the perceived silence and almost non-reaction from the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). The Catechism of the Catholic Church (no. 2284) states: “Scandal is an attitude and behavior which leads another to do evil. The person who gives scandal becomes his neighbor’s tempter. He damages virtue and integrity; he may even draw his brother into spiritual death. Scandal is a grave offense if by deed or omission another is deliberately led into a grave offense.”

This is exactly how it has affected some people in the Church. Most of us Catholics feel betrayed, confused, hurt, and are experiencing some sadness, anger, disgust, and even despair. These emotions are flagrantly exhibited on Facebook with all those scathing ridicule of the “holier-than-thou” fallen men, the “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” the two-faced opportunistic ministers of Christ. Aside from these expressions of hurt, we Catholics undergo the backlash of it all. We are subjected to mockery and derision by people outside the Church because of the “sins of the fathers – the priests.” We are taunted with the accusations that we are blind followers of false teachers, of the “Scribes and Pharisees” who are known to be Jesus’ enemies in the Bible. The latest news of a Monsignor being nabbed by the Marikina police for having solicited a 13-year old girl for sexual favor has affected greatly those who are about to lose their faith not only in the Catholic Church but in God as a whole through despair. Others have denounced the hypocrisy of the Catholic hierarchy, especially the clergy, and have shifted to other denominations, while others have renounced their Christian faith for good.

There is no such thing as a private sin. One man’s sin affects the whole of mankind as what happened at the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve violated God’s commandment. God had to sacrifice his only Son, Jesus, to redeem their offspring back to God. So, just like the sins of the first parents, the evil deeds committed by some members of the hierarchy of the Catholic Church are leading the people to despondency and despair. The scandal within the hierarchy of the Catholic Church has a great and lasting impact that reaches far and wide.

However, most people forget that there are still men of God who are faithful to their vocation and are working hard to bring about Jesus’ teachings and promises. Faithful Catholics believe that these attacks come from the Evil one to weaken the Church that Jesus established. But the big question still looms in the minds of the Faithful: When will this evil thing end? Will the Devil succeed? If we are familiar with the History of the Catholic Church, we will know that in its 2000 years of existence, she has been plagued by grave scandals and abuses committed even by popes, bishops, and clergy as a whole. Yet she remains intact. The Church’s history has always been full of abuses committed by the laity and the Catholic hierarchy: scandals, jealousy, in-fighting, sins, plotting out murder while saying or attending Mass. All these we will learn by reading the Church History and realize that the sins of our times are not as bad as compared to other times in the past. It is good to know her history because reading about it will allow us to understand that it is not at its worst as it seems to be even if the sins and scandals are still reprehensible and appalling.

We do not venerate ordinary men and our faith does not rest upon any human being but in Jesus Christ. We know that Christ offered himself as a sacrifice for our redemption. We put our trust in Jesus, who through his Paschal mystery and the Holy Spirit, guides the Church through all those 2000 years. It is Christ and Christ alone who leads us to our final resting place.

But if these scandals go on without being publicly acknowledged and addressed by the CBCP, the danger of many Catholics leaving the Church is almost certain. The priests and bishops are viewed by the people as “In Persona Christi” (in the Person of Christ) and therefore are looked up as men of strong faith, extremely holy, excellently living their vocation in total abandonment to God. Hence, it is so discouraging to see them as liars, weaklings, and sensuous human beings. The people of God feel rightly deceived and betrayed. But even if people’s expectations of their priests and bishops are real and understandable, those expectations do not tell the whole truth because the reality of it all is different. Priests are human beings just like all of us. No man is born sinless, strong in faith, and full of holiness. Only the grace of God can do that to any child of God who ardently desires him. Not all priests have achieved holiness as we would like them to be or even if they would want to be. They are like all of us: flawed, weak, tempted. They, too, struggle in their daily lives trying to live up to the grace that they received through the Sacrament of Holy Orders together with the other sacraments. Like us, they are also in need of forgiveness through the Sacrament of Confession, and even if they are ordained to make present the Holy Eucharist, they, too, need to be fed and nourished by it. Let us not forget that priests and bishops are no different from us ordinary men and women. Like us, they also struggle with weaknesses but the Evil One attacks them with greater intensity. Instead of condemning them we can help them by standing by their side and fight side by side with them in their struggles as brothers and sisters in Christ. They pray for us and we do the same for them who are no different from us.

When we are tempted to give it all up – our faith in the Catholic Church and in God – let us turn to Jesus Christ in prayer, hope, and trust. When we are tempted to throw it all up to the wind, let us be one with St. Peter who said to Jesus: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life (John 6:68, RSV).”

Each one of us Catholics have chosen a vocation by which we follow a path to God: Sacrament of Matrimony, Holy Order, Religious, Consecrated Men and Women and others. We all are trying to reach our goal towards God and in the process, we fall, we rise, fall again, through unending process of falling and rising – a process of perseverance until we reach our destination. We work out our conversion of heart daily so that at the end, we can say with St. Paul in 2 Timothy 4:7, NIV: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Midst the storm of these scandals, let us continue to set our eyes on Jesus despite the crashing waves, the strong force of the wind, and the dark clouds whirling around and darkening the surroundings. Let us remember that the Church has survived the countless hurdles of offenses and abuses and will forever continue to survive because she is in the hands of Jesus. We do not deny that this process of purification is painful but Jesus has said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me (Matthew 16:24, ESV).”

Lastly, let us rest behind these words that St. Pope John Paul II addressed the priests of the universal Church every Holy Thursday in his message dated March 17, 2002. He wrote:

“At this time, as priests, we are personally and profoundly afflicted by the sins of some of our brothers who have betrayed the grace of Ordination in succumbing even to the most grievous forms of the mysterium iniquitatis at work in the world. Grave scandal is caused, with the result that a dark shadow of suspicion is cast over all the other fine priests who perform their ministry with honesty and integrity and often with heroic self-sacrifice. As the Church shows its concern for the victims and strives to respond in truth and justice to each of these painful situations, all of us — conscious of human weakness, but trusting in the healing power of divine grace — are called to embrace the “mysterium Crucis” and to commit ourselves fully to the search for holiness. We must beg God in his Providence to prompt a whole-hearted reawakening of those ideals of total self-giving to Christ which is the very foundation of the priestly ministry.” (Dolly Dalisay Banzon)