Catholic Church Can Right Its Own Wrongs

Robert Scheer, true to form, plays the knee-jerk role of apologist for homosexuals, claiming that they are being scapegoated for priestly scandals in the Catholic Church (“Blame Church Arrogance, Not Oversexed Society,” Commentary, April 30). It is part of the Catholic catechism that homosexuality is an intrinsically disordered evil and homosexual conduct is regarded as a grave moral sin. Such individuals who celebrate and flaunt the sin of homosexuality have no place either in the Catholic priesthood or as deacons or eucharistic ministers. Priestly pederasty is directly linked to homosexual orientation.

Celibacy is the gem of our church, where a chaste priest gives himself entirely to the service of Christ. As for women in the priesthood, forget it! When a priest celebrates Mass, where he transforms bread and wine into the true living body and blood of Christ, he does so “in persona” of Christ. In short, he assumes in the male form the place of Christ in the Last Supper.

Stanislaus Pulle

Thousand Oaks

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Scheer’s commentary is another example of his journalism--an overindulgence in rhetoric at the expense of balanced consideration. As if the church’s reaction to the scandal was only to blame the social climate for the problem. As if the church was not profoundly mortified and no action from the pope on down was being taken to arrive at a solution.

Mr. Scheer, the Catholic Church is not an institution dedicated to molesting youth and then concealing the crime. It is the bedrock of Western civilization. It has formulated the intellectual and moral basis for the very misdeeds for which it is now justly brought to task. As it has done many times before, the church will again right itself and continue on its religious and humanizing mission. As to your flippant suggestion that the church should emulate the wisdom of Pogo (“We have met the enemy and he is us”), perhaps you should yourself take that suggestion to heart next time you undertake to expose the evils of this world.

Jack Kaczorowski

Los Angeles

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Finally, it has been simply stated by Scheer. The immediate notification to the proper outside authorities upon discovery of any criminal sexual behavior was all that was ever expected of the Catholic Church. Massive doses of humility and admission of needing help with the problem are all that is asked now.

Because the Catholic Church holds itself out as the “one true church,” infallible in matters of faith and morals, the temptation to defend this arrogance and justify this lofty position is high. When the preservation of the institution becomes more important than what it set out to accomplish, blame and denial are a common position but the harder course. The church’s shortfall from its own perceived perfection does not mean it has to go away. It is only infallible in its own eyes anyway.

B.P. McInerny

Santa Monica