The recent report on sexual abuse by the Catholic clergy has even this ex-Catholic aghast. The utter cruelty is beyond belief. As a former scholar at Our Lady of Sorrows grammar school, where I lost my religion, I was particularly stunned by the story of the priest who abused a seven year old, then told him to confess the sin he had just committed to his abuser. Truly unbelievable.
Of course, the Church is on it, trying desperately to figure out a way to start recruiting priests that aren’t pedophiles or other types of sexual deviants. Unfortunately, they can’t seem to figure out a solution. It’s such a complicated problem, really. They can’t seem to figure out why their line of work seems to attract the worst type of man. (No women allowed, of course) It’s a mystery they can’t seem to solve.
But wait, this mere woman quoted in this morning’s Timesmay have stumbled on a solution:
A few blocks away from the white cross towering above the pastoral center of the Archdiocese of Miami, Mirta Criswell, 77, was loading dollar-store provisions into the back of a sedan. Of the report, she said, “I believe it 100 percent.”
Ms. Criswell said the sex abuse scandal that began in Boston in 2002 had been painful enough, but the latest reports had left her ever more exasperated. While the scandals would not erode her commitment to the faith, she believed they showed that some of the church rules needed to be revisited.
“The Catholic Church has to change,” Ms. Criswell said. “They have to let their priests marry, to have a family. Humans need sex.”
Gosh, could it really be that simple? That’s what I call thinking outside the box, though I’ve heard that the other box she’s thinking inside of is actually pretty crowded. The more I think about it, the more I think she may have something there. Someone should tell the Pope.
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