I was
raised Catholic. I'm grateful for my Catholic upbringing. I believe that I am a
more compassionate, socially conscious person because of what I learned
throughout my Catholic education.
I was thrilled that when I married, a Catholic priest (one of the finest
men I’ve ever known) was the one to officiate the ceremony.
That said, I
am not currently a practicing Catholic. I've never been a fan of its patriarchy. By the time I was 7 or 8, I was already asking questions
that indicated Catholicism was not going to be the path for me. Despite my
leaving the church unofficially by age 15 or so (going to Meijer with my older sister instead of Saturday night mass) and officially by age 20ish, I
have always been proud to say that I was raised Catholic. I have been proud even though I knew there were a few creepy priests out there. We all knew. I
remember my dad talking about the priests to avoid when I was a teen. I remember him talking with other grown-ups about it. There were jokes. The grown-ups in my life, devout Catholics, told jokes about pedophile priests. JOKES!
Well, now
we know there aren't/weren't just a few. There are countless. In the last few
days the church has been in the news. The Pope is trying to deal with it. I
like this Pope. But try as he may to help remedy this situation, I think
DRASTIC changes need to be made. Honestly, I think this is the only solution. I
think they ought to shutter their doors til they figure it out. I think they
need to wipe the slate clean. Start over. Re-educate, re-build. Zero Tolerance.
And PRISON for every one of these creep-meisters.
Listen to
the victims… the children, the adults, the nuns. Their stories are horrifying. I am listening to them because the compassion I learned in this very church teaches me that their stories
must be heard and actions to support them must be taken.
There is so
much good in the Catholic Church. There are so many amazing Catholics. I'm
related to a slew of them in my own family and by marriage. I don't envy them for
all the truths they are hearing right now. But this is a crisis. Of epic
proportion. It has been for decades, even centuries I assume. Words will not
heal. Only action will.
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