James Stabile Info Blog Newsletter

July 2005

Religion and Spiritualism...

Archbishop Edward A McCarthy, former Archbishop of the Miami Diocese has been laid to rest. The archbishop was a soft-spoken, thoughtful, personable and genuine person. He accomplished much during his term as Archbishop of the Diocese of Miami. I never had the opportunity to familiarize myself with the ministry of this shepherd of soul's, but what I have read and heard about him over the last few weeks suggests that he seemed to be a righteous follower of Christ and a empathetic leader of his flock. He was loved and admired by many. May he rest in peace.

The United States Roman Catholic bishops voted overwhelmingly to extend their policy that bars any priest from ministry who has ever molested a child. The extension is a five year extension. That's the good news, there is some discomforting news concerning the real beliefs of the bishops. First the bishops felt that they had to make the 5 year extension because of the laity. They were afraid that the laity would complain if they did not renew the policy. They wanted to keep in good faith would the congregation. This is not acceptable. But wait, it gets better.

The American bishops view this policy as extreme. They feel that a priest should be able to attend to his ministry after he has spent a period of time in rehabilitation. They feel that they are being too critical and too harsh on the child molesters. This is unacceptable.

These men are child abusers. They should never, ever, come in contact with any child. Child abusers can not be rehabilitated. The situation can be compared to a drug user or alcoholic - there is no cure for those situations. The child molester must stay away from children just as a drug abuser must stay away from drugs and an alcoholic must stay away from alcohol. There is no cure.

Child abuse in the Roman Catholic Church or in the "real" world should be dealt with in a similar manner. There should be uniform rules and regulations that dictate the treatment of child molesters. The primary provision in any of these rules or regulation must be the removal of all contact between a child molester and children, no exception, no statute of limitations and no provision for allowing contact in the future. The victims in these cases are the children, not the molesters. 

We must be serious about protecting our children. Children are not a commodity. They are not property. They are not in existence to satisfy the whims of adults. They are delicate human beings who must be protected from abuse. 

The hierarchy of the Catholic Church, much like the power lords in any church or organization, is still trying to play their power games with the people who they are commissioned to minister. Again, they have forgotten the words of Jesus Christ, "I come to serve, not to be served." A Christian church must follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. Love, unconditional regard and service are the bywords of Jesus' ministry. Our contemporary ministers must follow the teachings of Jesus Christ in their ministry.

There are many good Catholic priests, bishops and others in the Catholic hierarchy. Those fearless and dedicated people must seek and rid the church of those in their ranks who do not follow the truths of our faith.

The truths delivered to us by Jesus Christ should be a standard for all people - clergy and laity. We all must continue the work of Jesus Christ on earth. When we find corruption it must be dealt with in the spirit of our Christian heritage.

Although we are not perfect and some among us may not function in relation to God's law, the church of Jesus Christ will survive and prosper, one way or another. This survival is the responsibility of all of God's people.