A Pope Resigns, II (History)

It didn't take long after Pope Benedict revealed his intention to resign the papacy on Monday for church historians to find the historical precedents   He is certainly not the first to do so.  Father Tom Reese,  S.J., had this list up on the internet by mid-morning:

Historical evidence for papal resignations is limited, especially if one eliminates resignations that may have been forced.

1. Clement I (92?-101): Epiphanius asserted that Clement gave up the pontificate to Linus for the sake of peace and became pope again after the death of Cletus.
2. Pontian (230-235): Allegedly resigned after being exiled to the mines of Sardinia during persecution of Maximinus Thrax.
3. Cyriacus: A fictional character created in the Middle Ages who supposedly received a heavenly command to resign.
4. Marcellinus (296-304): Abdicated or was deposed after complying with Diocletian's order to offer sacrifice to pagan gods.
5. Martin I (649-655): Exiled by Emperor Constans II to Crimea. Before he died, clergy of Rome elected a successor whom he appears to have approved.
6. Benedict V (964): After one month in office, he accepted deposition by Emperor Otto I.
7. Benedict IX (1032-45): Benedict resigned after selling the papacy to his godfather Gregory VI.
8. Gregory VI (1045-46): Deposed for simony by Henry III.
9. Celestine V (1294): A hermit, elected at age of 80 and overwhelmed by the office, resigned. He was imprisoned by his successor.
10. Gregory XII (1406-15): Resigned at request of Council of Constance to help end the Great Western Schism.

Source: Patrick Granfield, "Papal Resignation" (The Jurist, winter and spring 1978) and J. N. D. Kelly, The Oxford Dictionary of Popes (1986).

In Light of the World, (1910) Pope Benedict responded unambiguously to a question about whether a pope could resign: "Yes. If a Pope clearly realizes that he is no longer physically, psychologically, and spiritually capable of handling the duties of his office, then he has a right and, under some circumstances, also an obligation to resign."

On the other hand, he did not favor resignation simply because the burden of the papacy is great. "When the danger is great one must not run away. For that reason, now is certainly not the time to resign. Precisely at a time like this one must stand fast and endure the situation. That is my view. One can resign at a peaceful moment or when one simply cannot go on. But one must not run away from danger and say someone else should do it."

The most "recent" of the resignations, by Pope Gregory XII, ended an 85 year period in which two, and sometimes three, men all claimed the office of Pope.  Not a very edifying century in the Catholic Church's history.  

Many have noted that Pope Celestine V, who resigned in 1294, is pictured by Dante in Hell for his act.  

What strikes me as you look at this list is that just about all the resignations were done for less than virtuous reasons.  Only the last one by Gregory XII, could be said to have had intention which served the church, not the man.

What is more fascinating to me is not the history, but the future.  By his resignation at age 85, Papa Ratzinger has effectively given "permission" to all future popes to do the same.  That is, he has freed his successors to determine if they have the energy, mental acuity and stamina to carry out the responsibilities of spiritually leading the 1.2 billion souls in the Catholic Church, as well as being a leading figure on the world stage.  

Benedict has also freed up the College of Cardinals, as they prepare to move into the Conclave in early March, to widen their search.  The 117 electors will not have to limit their thinking to the "sweet spot" of ages 68 to 72 (not too young, or else you get another 27 year reign such as with John Paul II; not too old, or else you lose the effectiveness of the man to must respond to the huge demands of our contemporary world).  If the Cardinals elect, say, a 63 year old, or even a 55 year old, such a new pope could in his mind say, I will give it everything I can, for as long as I can.  But he will also know that if his body gives out (or his mind; how many previous popes had Altzeimer's disease and their aides and doctors didn't know it?) he can -- for the good of the church -- resign and not leave the church leaderless.

A Pope Resigns

By now the whole earth knows about the surprising announcement by Pope Benedict XVI on Monday morning (E.S.T.) that he is resigning as Bishop of Rome and Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church effective Thursday, February 28.  

Pope Benedict XVI, 2013

For the first time in almost 600 years a pope resigns.  In his brief notice (delivered in Latin, such that most of the Cardinals in attendance, at a consistory for new saints in the Vatican, did not understand the import of his words) he said that after repeated examinations of his conscience he had to step down because of his declining health.  He was not able, in his mind, to carry out his responsibilities as pope as he could or should.

Notable in his announcement is that the pope does not need any "acceptance" of his resignation.  By canon law, all that is required is that he be of sound mind and body (as he expressly stated), state that he is acting freely, that his resignation be in writing, and witnessed.  (Canon 322, #2)

Pope Benedict XVI, April 19, 2005

In words that have been repeated over and over, Benedict's announcement humbles me tremendously.  He has chosen to give up the "power" of his office, in striking contrast to politicians of every stripe and on every continent, who  fight to the end to maintain their position.  It is impossible to do anything other than take Benedict at his word:  that he values the church more than his role as leader of it. 

News reports after the Monday announcement have shed a little more light on his decision.  He was exhausted after his pilgrimage to Mexico and Cuba in April.  His doctor told him he was too weak to contemplate any more overseas flights (including a potential trip to Brazil for World Youth Day later in the year or to Philadelphia in 2015).   He had publicly contemplated such a resignation in a 2010 book-length interview with a German reporter.  And then there are his remarks to nursing home residents in November, as reported by Rocco Palmo on his "Whispers in the Loggia" blog:

“I come to you as Bishop of Rome, but also as an old man visiting his peers. It would be superfluous to say that I am well acquainted with the difficulties, problems and limitations of this age and I know that for many these difficulties are more acute due to the economic crisis. At times, at a certain age, one may look back nostalgically at the time of our youth when we were fresh and planning for the future. Thus at times our gaze is veiled by sadness, seeing this phase of life as the time of sunset. This morning, addressing all the elderly in spirit, although I am aware of the difficulties that our age entails I would like to tell you with deep conviction: it is beautiful to be old! At every phase of life it is necessary to be able to discover the presence and blessing of the Lord and the riches they bring. We must never let ourselves be imprisoned by sorrow! We have received the gift of longevity. Living is beautiful even at our age, despite some “aches and pains” and a few limitations. In our faces may there always be the joy of feeling loved by God and not sadness. 

In the Bible longevity is considered a blessing of God; today this blessing is widespread and must be seen as a gift to appreciate and to make the most of. And yet frequently society dominated by the logic of efficiency and gain does not accept it as such: on the contrary it frequently rejects it, viewing the elderly as non-productive or useless. All too often we hear about the suffering of those who are marginalized, who live far from home or in loneliness. I think there should be greater commitment, starting with families and public institutions, to ensure that the elderly be able to stay in their own homes. The wisdom of life, of which we are bearers, is a great wealth. The quality of a society, I mean of a civilization, is also judged by how it treats elderly people and by the place it gives them in community life. Those who make room for the elderly make room for life! Those who welcome the elderly welcome life! ... When life becomes frail, in the years of old age, it never loses its value and its dignity: each one of us, at any stage of life, is wanted and loved by God, each one is important and necessary. 

Dear friends, at our age we often experience the need of the help of others; and this also happens to the Pope. In the Gospel we read that Jesus told the Apostle Peter: “when you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you would; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go” (Jn 21:18). The Lord was referring to the way in which the Apostle was to witness to his faith to the point of martyrdom, but this sentence makes us think about that fact that the need for help is a condition of the elderly. I would like to ask you to seek in this too a gift of the Lord, because being sustained and accompanied, feeling the affection of others is a grace! This is important in every stage of life: no one can live alone and without help; the human being is relational. And in this case I see, with pleasure, that all those who help and all those who are helped form one family, whose lifeblood is love. 

Dear elderly brothers and sisters, the days sometimes seem long and empty, with difficulties, few engagements and few meetings; never feel down at heart: you are a wealth for society, even in suffering and sickness. And this phase of life is also a gift for deepening the relationship with God.... Do not forget that one of the valuable resources you possess is the essential one of prayer: become interceders with God, praying with faith and with constancy. Pray for the Church, and pray for me, for the needs of the world, for the poor, so that there may be no more violence in the world. The prayers of the elderly can protect the world, helping it, perhaps more effectively than collective anxiety. Today I would like to entrust to your prayers the good of the Church and peace in the world. The Pope loves you and relies on all of you! May you feel beloved by God and know how to bring a ray of God’s love to this society of ours, often so individualistic and so efficiency-oriented. And God will always be with you and with all those who support you with their affection and their help.”

All that I, or we he church, can do, is admire Benedict's bravery in tendering his resignation, and pray for good health as he approaches his 86th birthday in April, and a new chapter in his life, as a "retired pope."

Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, circa 1995

The Bark of Peter (?)

This past Sunday, the Fifth in Ordinary Time (C), offered the story from the Gospel of Luke of Jesus asking Peter to "put out into the deep" and try again for fish, after striking out all night long.  Initially, Simon Peter resists, but then caves to Jesus's request.  And he and his business partners are rewarded with a boatload of fish, almost to the point of their boat capsizing.

About twenty-five years ago, during a drought in the Holy Land, some locals found the remains of a boat that emerged from the mud, as the Sea of Galilee receded   Radio carbon dating has determined it is from the first century A.D.  Some have called it "Peter's boat."  There is no evidence that it IS Peter's boat.  But it does give one a very good visual image of what the boats Peter, and his partners James and John, used in their fishing enterprise.

Being excavated, with the Sea of Galilee in the background.

Now in the  the Yigal Allon Museum in Kibbutz Ginosar.

According to Wikipedia:

The Sea of Galilee Boat also known as the "Jesus Boat" was an ancient fishing boat from the 1st century CE (the time of Jesus Christ), discovered in 1986 on the north-west shore of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. The remains of the boat, 27 feet (8.27 meters) long, 7.5 feet (2.3 meters) wide and with a maximum preserved height of 4.3 feet (1.3 meters), first appeared during a drought, when the waters of the Sea (actually a great fresh-water lake) receded. There is no evidence connecting the boat to Jesus or his disciples.

The remains of the boat were found by brothers Moshe and Yuval Lufan, fishermen from Kibbutz Ginnosar. The brothers were keen amateur archaeologists with an interest in discovering artifacts from Palestine's past. It had always been their hope to one day discover a boat in the Sea of Galilee, where they and generations of their family had fished. When drought reduced the water-level of the lake, the two brothers examined the newly exposed beach and stumbled across the remains of the boat buried in the shore.

The brothers reported their discovery to the authorities who sent out a team of archaeologists to investigate. Realising that the remains of the boat were of tremendous historical importance to Jews and Christians alike, a secret archaeological dig followed, undertaken by members of Kibbutz Ginosar, the Israel Antiquities Authority, and numerous volunteers. Rumour spread that the boat was full of gold and the dig had to be guarded night and day. Excavating the boat from the mud without damaging it, quickly enough to extract it before the water rose again, was a difficult process which lasted 12 days and nights. The boat was then submerged in a chemical bath for 7 years before it could be displayed at the Yigal Allon Museum in Kibbutz Ginosar.

Physical parameters

The boat's construction conforms to other boats constructed in that part of the Mediterranean during the period between 100 BC and AD 200. Constructed primarily of cedar planks joined together by pegged mortise and tenon joints and nails, the boat is shallow drafted with a flat bottom, allowing it to get very close to the shore while fishing. However, the boat is composed of ten different wood types, suggesting either a wood shortage or that the boat was made of scrap wood and had undergone extensive and repeated fixes. The boat was row-able, with four staggered rowers, and also had a mast allowing the fisherman to sail the boat.

Dating the boat

The boat has been dated to 40 BC (plus or minus 80 years) based on radiocarbon dating,  and 50 BC to AD 50 based on pottery (including a cooking pot and lamp) and nails found in the boat, as well as hull construction techniques. The evidence of repeated repairs shows the boat was used for several decades, perhaps nearly a century. When its fishermen owners thought it was beyond repair, they removed all useful wooden parts and the hull eventually sank to the bottom of the lake. There it was covered with mud which prevented bacterial decomposition.

[edit]Historical importance

The Sea of Galilee Boat is historically important to Jews as an example of the type of boat used by their ancestors in the 1st century for both fishing and transportation across the lake. Previously only references made by Roman authors, the Bible and mosaics had provided archaeologists insight into the construction of these types of vessels.  The boat is also important to Christians because this was the sort of boat used by Jesus and his disciples, several of whom were fishermen.  Boats such as this played a large role in Jesus' life and ministry, and are mentioned 50 times in the Gospels, though there is no evidence connecting the Sea of Galilee Boat itself to Jesus or his disciples.

It's nice to have this image of the boat, as we hear the Gospel story.

Unfortunately Correct

Super Bowl XLVII is over, and the Baltimore Ravens (gulp!) are the 2012 champions of the National Football League.

And I predicted it!

It was a great game, with lots to chew on -- the huge lead by Baltimore, the power failure, the surge by San Francisco, that fantastic throw of Joe Flacco to Anquan Boldin on third and 1, and (I believe) the mistake of 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh to have his rookie quarterback Colin Kaepernick attempt to get into the end zone in under two minutes with his passing skills, not his running ability.

If the Steelers aren't in the big game, all you can ask for is a "good game," engaging, exciting, well played.  This Super Bowl is certainly among the best five of all time.

But all good things must end, and 2013 awaits, with lots of maneuvering by the Pittsburgh Steelers necessary if they are going to challenge the Ravens for AFC North supremacy and a chance to get that #7 Super Bowl ring, on the frozen tundra of Meadowlands Field in the swamps of Jersey next February.  There are no games lost between February and September, but what happens behind the scenes will go a long way to determine what kind of team the Steelers will field in 2013.

Let me end the football season with a quote from one of my favorite NFL blogs, "Tuesday Morning Quarterback," by Gregg Easterbrook.

The stadium lights are turned off, the film rooms have gone dark and the cheerleaders have put their miniskirts away in very small drawers. TMQ folds its tent and steals off into the desert till next season, though will resurface briefly around draft time.

As usual, I recommend you employ the offseason to engage in spiritual growth. Take long walks. Perform volunteer work. Exercise more and eat less. Drink less soda, more tea: green tea is soothing, oolong tea may lower blood pressure. Attend worship services of any faith, bearing in mind Pascal's wager. Study philosophy and secular ethics: We spend too much time on economics and science, not enough on ethics. Read a book a month. Seriously, you can't get through a book a month? And real books: history, literary novels. Appreciate the grandeur of nature. Meditate, express gratitude, serve others. Tell the people around you that you love them. Who knows if you will get another chance?

Do these things and you will feel justified in racing back to the remote, the swimsuit calendars and the microbrews when the football artificial universe resumes in the autumn.

Amen!

Pilgrimage to Italy

This post comes under the "shameless commerce department, Catholic division."

Father Nick Vaskov and I are leading a pilgrimage to Italy, from September 30 to October 10, 2013.  We will visit Rome, Assisi (on the Feast of St. Francis himself, Oct. 4!), Florence, Siena, San Gimignano, Padua, Venice and Verona.  Cost is $3,820 per person, double occupancy.  We will have the opportunity to attend a Wednesday audience with the Holy Father in Rome, participate in daily Mass, and enjoy lots of great Italian meals.  

We have been advertising this in the New Castle parish bulletins, and I am happy to say we already have 50 of a possible 56 seats filled.  If you wish to join us, call Father Nick at 724-652-3422 as soon as possible.  A deposit will be needed by March, as well as a valid passport.  

Arrivederci!

Standing in the Vestibule of the Cathedral While Mass is Going On

Last Sunday our bishop gave out the Manifesting the Kingdom awards to over 200 parishioners from across our diocese.  Since I pastor four parishes, it was my privilege to nominate parishioners from each parish.  I wanted to show my support for them by attending the Mass at St. Paul Cathedral, at which the awards would be presented.  However, the 2:30 p.m. start in Pittsburgh posed a problem.  I had the 11:30 a.m. Mass at St. Vitus Church, and then two baptisms afterward (cute Marco and Mason were darlings throughout).

Oh well, I thought, I'll leave after the baptisms, drive the 70 minutes into Pittsburgh, tiptoe downstairs into the Cathedral basement, put on my chasuble and stole, and slip into the ranks of the priests upstairs unnoticed.

The first part of my plan went well.  Left New Castle at 1:30, arrived 57 miles later in Oakland 2:40, found a parking spot in the St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral lot, and walked into the vestibule of our cathedral at 2:50 with the bag with my alb under my arm.  The lector was just beginning the first reading in the sanctuary.

But a funny thing happened.  I never made it into the ranks of the clergy.  

First I said hello to several diocesan staff who were standing around in back.  They had the name tags of awardees, and map of the cathedral where everyone was to sit.  And the church was full.  Every pew filled.

I chatted with my former secretary, Father Lengwin's secretary, and the head of diocesan properties.  I got the inside scoop on the demolition of St. Nicholas Church on Route 28, and a couple of other falling-down churches.  The ushers shush us for talking too loud.

Two other priests were also late -- baptisms and distance, just like me.  They too wanted to see their parishioners.  One is involved in a healthy merger of two parishes, which is going well.  He picked my brain for ideas from my experience of closing churches and merging parishes.  Another told me about his particular situation.  He shared clerical humor:  "The definition of an usher is a guy who's been coming to church each week for twenty years, and never attended Mass."  And:  "You know, a couple of states have legalized gay weddings during the same week they legalized smoking marijuana.  This only confirms the words of the book of Leviticus, 'He who lays down with a man will be stoned.'"

By this time the Gospel was read, and lo and behold, the choir descended the narrow steps -- to go outside into the cold for a smoke!  I saw one of the instrumentalists whom I had taught at Duquesne U., whose father had just died.  I offered my sympathy in person, and he told me some nice stories about his dad's funeral Mass.  I marveled that though he was easily 15 years younger than me, he had a full head of white hair.

One priest, observing the choir standing outside during the sermon, said the bishop should say, "OK, long Mass, so only one minute sermon."  That would get the choir members scrambling back into the loft!  We ignore whatever the bishop was saying as we continue our conversation.

My fear about not seeing my parishioners disappeared, as one, then two, then three came back during various moments of the Eucharistic Prayer, to go to the bathroom.  Only validates my thought that the most important room in any house is the potty.  

A grandpa comes by, holding five-month-old grandson Brock.  We make acquaintances as Brock enjoys munching on my finger to help his first tooth come through.  Brock smiles.  Grandpap smiles.  I smile.

The Mass is over, and the priests file through the vestibule  to go downstairs and remove their chasubles.  I say hello to lots of guys I rarely see.

One of the awardees, from a parish in which I formerly served, who was one of the first to receive his award since his last name begins with B, comes by.  He and his wife, and their best friend, all give me hugs, and very kindly wish I was back in their parish.  

All the awards are distributed.  The bishop walks down the aisle, into the vestibule  to pose for pictures for the awardees and families who remain.  He too understands that the vestibule is where all the action in church is!

I move to visit the new addition, where nine stained glass windows from St. Canice Church (in St. John Vianney Parish, Hilltop) are proudly displayed.  I always visit this space when I come to the cathedral, and say a prayer for the persevering parishioners of that church and parish.

Time to go.  I've been standing for three hours.  Didn't attend Mass, but certainly have a new perspective on it.  I leave at 5:40 p.m.  Another lesson learned:  The church is most certainly alive -- in the back!

No One Would Believe This Stuff If It Were in a Novel

I love the church.  Back in the last century I basically made a commitment to give my life to the church, as an ordained priest.  I have no doubt that the church will endure until the end of time.  When I worked in diocesan central administration, we had two running jokes.  The greatest proof of the presence of the Holy Spirit guiding the church is that if fallible and sinful human beings really ran the church it would have died in the first century.  And, you can lose your faith if you work for the church, if you don't watch out.

Three unrelated examples of the "fallible and sinful" aspect of the church have been in the news lately.

Father Thomas Donovan, pastor of St. Aloysius Church in Springfield, Illinois, called 911 at 4:45 in the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 28.  He had a problem.  He couldn't get out of his handcuffs.  When police arrived at the rectory, according to a Religious News Story dated Jan. 29, "Donovan's hands were cuffed behind his back with the keyhole facing up, so he couldn't unlock himself, according to the police report.  He was wearing an orange jumpsuit and 'a leather bondage type mask with a bar in his mouth.'"  According to the police report, there were no other persons in the rectory, and no drugs in sight.  

If that isn't bizarre enough, on the weekend of January 19-20, the parishioners of St. Aloysius were handed a statement by Springfield Bishop Thomas Paprocki.  The bishop explained, "The pastor is suffering from a psychological condition that manifests itself in self-bondage as a response to stress."  The bishop's statement went on to day that the 41-year-old priest's "work and lifestyle patterns caused severely-compromised patterns of self-care with respect to diet, exercise, sleep, work hours, and unreasonable expectations of himself as a pastor."  After consulting with a therapist, the bishop went on to assure the faithful, "that this self-bondage is to be understood as non-sexual in nature."  

The same Religious News story quoted as New York psychiatrist who differed in his opinion from the diocese, and said self-bondage is a sexual disorder.  Father Donovan is now on a leave of absence from ministry.

Jokes aside ("the priest is all tied up"), can you imagine Bishop Paprocki, a nationally known canon lawyer, asking himself, when in the seminary or my canonical studies did I ever come across "self-bondage"?  Could he ever imagine himself having to explain such behavior to the Catholic faithful, or using the word in a letter to his parishioners?

Maybe the second example is more "garden variety."  Or not.  

Msgr. Kevin Wallin was arrested earlier this week on federal drug charges for allegedly having methamphetamine mailed to him from co-conspirators in California, and making more than $300,000 in drugs sales out of his apartment in Waterbury, Connecticut.  Authorities also allege that he bought a small adult video and sex toy shop (called "Land of Oz and Dorothy's Place") in a nearby town, for the purpose of laundering the money he was making. Allegedly he was part of a New England ring of drug distribution.  Msgr. Wallin faces between 10 to 20 years in jail if convicted.  He has pleaded not guilty.

Msgr. Wallin is no country bumpkin.  The 61-year-old priest was a close friend of former Bridgeport Bishops Walter Curtiss and  Edward Egan, whom he served as personal secretary.  Egan was promoted to Archbishop of New York and elevated to the College of Cardinals.  His successor, William Lori, named Wallin rector of the St. Augustine Cathedral Parish, where he served for nine years.  He's been officially off the job and on leave of absence since 2011, suspended from public ministry since May 2012.

Snarky media have already nicknamed him "Monsignor Meth," and have compared him to the fictional character Walter White on the HBO series, "Breaking Bad."

Here's where it gets worse (it can get worse?).  Sources told the Connecticut Post that while he was still serving at the cathedral, "The priest's behavior had become erratic, and he would disappear for days at a time."  According to this same source, "Church staff also saw him cross-dressing and he would entertain 'odd looking men' in the rectory, where they engaged in sex acts."  Staff reported his behavior to the Bridgeport Diocese.  The diocesan spokesman, Brian Wallace, confirmed some of this source's information.  Wallace told the Post, "We became aware that he was acting out sexually -- with men -- in the church rectory."  Church officials asked Wallin to resign.  

The Diocese of Bridgeport is currently without a diocesan bishop, as their former bishop, William Lori, was transferred to the Archdiocese of Baltimore last fall.

A final example came today in Los Angeles.

In the wake of the court-ordered "data dump" of 30,000 pages of archdiocesan clergy personnel files, Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez wrote to his flock that he had relieved his predecessor, Cardinal Roger Mahony, of all public and administrative duties, and that he had asked, and received, the resignation of Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Curry.  Curry was a close aide to Mahony in the 1980s, as the two worked to keep news of priests who sexually abused children from the police.

"I find these files to be brutal and painful reading. The behavior described in these files is terribly sad and evil," Gomez wrote in a letter addressed to "My brothers and sisters in Christ."

"I cannot undo the failings of the past that we find in these pages. Reading these files, reflecting on the wounds that were caused has been the saddest experience I've had since becoming your Archbishop in 2011," Gomez wrote.

Observers noted that such an action was unprecedented in American Catholic church history, and went beyond how the Vatican handled Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston, or more recently, former Bishop Thomas O'Brien of Phoenix and Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri.  

Again, that's not the end of the story.  Late today, Cardinal Mahony could not keep quiet.  He released a statement on his blog, insisting that he tried his best to deal with the priest molestation scandal but fell short because not enough was known about the problem early in his career.  Addressing his successor, Archbishop Gomez, Mahony wrote, "Not once over these past years did you ever raise any questions about our policies, practices or procedures in dealing with the problem of clergy sexual misconduct involving minors."   

"Unfortunately, I cannot return now to the 1980s and reverse actions and decisions made then," Mahony added. "But when I retired as the active archbishop, I handed over to you an archdiocese that was second to none in protecting children and youth."  Mahony posted the letter on his blog Friday afternoon, hours after he said he had sent it to Gomez.

What do I make of these sad, sad stories?  One perspective is to be philosophical.  I remember back in the 1980s, when word of the clergy sexual abuse of children were first reaching the major media, a reporter asked Father Andrew Greeley, "Aren't you shocked by this scandal?"  Greeley just chuckled, and said to the effect, the church has been having scandals since Peter and Judas betrayed Jesus, and the rest of the apostles ran away.  Ever would it be so.  

Another is to be horrified.  I have no doubt that each time a Catholic clergyperson is arrested, or does something embarrassing or illegal, more folks' faith is harmed, and more leave the active practice of their Catholic faith.

A third is to say, but these are not the majority.  There are over 400 bishops in the U.S., over 39,000 priests, about 62,000,000 members in the Catholic Church   Do the above actions represent them?  

Who knows?  I have no answers.

I do take heart from the ministry of Msgr. Robert Weiss.  He is the pastor of St. Rose of Lima Parish, whose ordinary and unsung priestly routine was shattered by the murder of 27 people, 20 children, in Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut in December.  In his 13 years as pastor there, he had baptized ten of the 20 children killed.  It was his sad duty to bury these "angels," as he called them, console their grieving parents, hug their brothers and sisters, try to explain unspeakable evil to the world.  (Read the touching tribute by Anne Hull,  http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-12-16/national/35864040_1_three-priests-firehouse-frantic-parents 

Seeing him interviewed on tv, in his quiet voice and rumpled suit, made me proud to be "just a parish priest."  He didn't pontificate.  He admitted to crying with the parents and families.  He didn't have all the answers.  He just wanted to be there with them, as a fellow Christian and as their pastor.   He didn't seek out the media, but he didn't shy away from the interviews either.  He organized the local interfaith ministerium prayer service the following Sunday (as its chair).  In his monsignor's purple cassock he somberly shook the hand of President Obama after he address the local citizens (and the nation) at the conclusion of the service.  Msgr. Weiss was all you would want as a pastor for today's church.  

All we can do is move forward, "shrewd as serpents and gentle as doves," as best we can, in the fallible, sinful church which is us.