The Catholic Church and Scandal …A Message from our Pastor, Fr. Jack Lombardi… Ecclesia simper reformanda. The Church is always in need of reform! There is evil in the world. And in some priests, and some church officials’ past actions and neglect, grave- wrong. We have seen this recently in reports of abuse in Chile, Austria, Pennsylvania, Washington, Australia, Rome. This is pure scandal for Catholics, Our Church and Our Lord. We need purification—and ongoing reformation. Archbishop Lori of Baltimore has said: “It represents a tsunami of moral failures – grave acts of commission and omission – that have justifiably bewildered and angered God’s people and undercut the Church’s evangelizing mission.” Cardinal DiNardo, president of the US Bishops Conference, calls it a “moral catastrophe” and said: “We are faced with a spiritual crisis that requires not only spiritual conversion, but practical changes to avoid repeating the sins and failures of the past that are so evident in the recent report.” We need recognize any priest-- or anyone--- can slide into sin, and we all need purification. I have personally witnessed, in seminary and priesthood, abuse, and “pockets of wrong,” and it has been horrible and when some spoke up it has sometimes been squelched. With the high-profile cases recently of Cardinal McCarrick in Washington and the report by the Attorney General regarding Pennsylvania state dioceses, we have observed both horror-- of abuses, and embarrassing neglect by church officials. The U.S. Bishops-appointed John Jay Study in 2004, by a lay panel of experts, reported 81% of abuse cases dealt with ephebophilia – with abuse of adults, not children, between 1950 and 2004. The bulk of abuse cases peaked in the 1960-1970’s and declined in the 1980’s and following. We must admit: this abuse is all dark and disturbing and need be purified. As many have called, again, we need a layperson-panel to study and purify abuses and neglect, and, also, called for by a few, address the problems in the alarming John Jay Study. We also need to listen to those affected by these grave harms. While we may never know or feel the hurt of those affected, we need reach out and welcome-listen to them. We, as Catholics, need to strive for a balance in this: a realism of admitting abuse and systemic cover ups, and also realize that the vast number of priests and bishops are sincere, and, to all this, responding by creating a new safeguard for holiness and purity for all active clergy and Catholics. I recently talked to a group of active Catholics about all this and they expressed both anger-horror at the abuse and cover up, and yet also expressed their resolve at being and staying Catholic amidst it all. I recently heard a sermon preached by a youngish priest in the Midwest who said he entered the seminary in the “high tide scandal” in 2002. He described it as “Running into a burning building” –and he still did it, pursued priesthood, anyway. He also corrected, in the sermon, scandalous priests and Church officials during and since then. He also said he understood why some might “leave the Church,” and called all—lay faithful especially, to respond with purifying helps. Balance. While any abuse is one too many, we note via the John Jay Study, the abuse by priests in the USA was near to one per cent of the total priests serving. Today, the credible allegations about clergy is less than one percent of those currently serving in ministry. In the Church’s past, so-called “Borgia popes” (during the 1400-1500’s) severely abused powers (by nepotism, simony, etc.) and did much ongoing scandal. Yes, some, many left the Church but, also saints rose up in response. Famous saints like Catherine of Siena, Brigid of Sweden and Hildegard of Bingen, along with contemporary Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Dorothy Day often challenged Church officials to reform and purify the Catholic Church. Will you? Pope John Paul II famously apologized and called for purification for past Catholic Church, in 2000, errors and egregious practices, regarding the Galileo affair; African slave trade, Protestant persecutions; WWII -Holocaust neglect; ethnic prejudices and other offenses. This is brave, and should we be. While abuse and scandal existed over millennia, true, as one of my Catholic friends said, quoting Jesus Himself, “The gates of hell will not prevail” (Mt. 16:18). We must both purify and push on with the saving of souls! Balance. I have loved being a Catholic priest and always will in spite of and in the midst of evil and scandal. I am embarrassed and horrified by all this. Yet, I resolve to be a priestly witness of Jesus Christ, our great, High Priest, and He gave this gift to us and will not fail us, no matter the odds. Notably, I recently talked to a Catholic man whose family was deeply tainted by abuse and is still active in the Church and who said, now, by resolve and perseverance, his life and marriage is holier more vibrant today. I also know Timmy Rubeling, my friend, who is now entering the seminary to become a Franciscan priest. He is an inspiring, realistic guy and example of response to abuse and scandal. What is yours? We all must rise up, and clear-eyed, purify the Church and also respond with heroic holiness and be witnesses to our hurting world! A mom recently rhetorically asked, How, today, could she counsel any of her boys for priesthood? Crazy today, in this climate? That’s understandable. We need reform, dramatically. And yet it’s a way different world of seminary formation and church-checks today, with many new filters today than years past. It is kind of like pre-9/11 protocols which were lacking and failed, and today—post 9/11, many more stringent safeguards enacted, a tremendous difference. Yes, we still need even more transparency and change. I recall in my very seminary formation, while in the beginning, it was riddled by lack of safeguards, but because of Pope John Paul II’s reformation of seminaries in response to problems, it was changing dramatically by the end of my seminary formation. Our culture is corroding, and this has adversely affected the Catholic Church. The Lord Jesus chose our patron saint Peter as lead-apostle and Peter betrayed the Lord three times. And Christ chose Judas as an apostle who betrayed him. Point: Peter rebounded and became a saint-martyr. We need you. Our Church and priesthood need your inspiration, witness and perseverance. Here at St Peter-St Patrick we are committed to both protecting children and adults and will enact safeguards and proper Archdiocese of Baltimore screening and ask all and you to help us create a holy and healthy environment. I want to thank each of you for your support of my priesthood and have been tremendously inspired by your respect for the Lord’s sacred-priestly office. I rely on your help and support in the future. I will celebrate Mass Monday night, 7PM, and if you have any comments or questions or suggestions about these issues, after Mass, please join me and us at St. Peter Church! Ecclesia simper reformanda!~FJL You may see our Archbishop Lori’s responses to much of this, enclosed in this Bulletin. And if you have any questions, suggestions or reportage of abuse please call Fr. Lombardi at 301-678-6339, or The Archdiocese of Baltimore at: 410-547-5348.