Yesterday, in his "Morning Briefings" column in National Catholic Reporter, Dennis Coday linked to a Chicago Tribune story reporting that "[i]nternal church records released Tuesday show that Chicago Jesuits consciously concealed the crimes of convicted sex offender Donald McGuire for more than 40 years."
In response, a commenter named bumblebee8 writes,
"Chicago Jesuits hid sex crimes"
First, I can't believe that they are using the same old ridiculous excuses. Secondly, they need to be tried for conspiracy of child molestation. Not to mention this perv was the spiritual director of Mother Theresa and her order? This whole church reeks of something that is far removed from God.
Bumblebee is absolutely correct: for many us lay Catholics who read one story after another like this year after year, there is no other conclusion to reach: This whole church reeks of something that is far removed from God.
What will the new Jesuit pope with the reforming image do to put back together the dashed hopes of many of us who have come to this conclusion, I wonder? I love the wonderful social-justice ideals I've been taught by my Jesuit mentors. And I love the affirmations about social justice and concern for those on the margins I hear the new pope making.
But I continue to stand with Paul Kendrick, who is Jesuit-educated as I am, when he insists that what the Jesuit tradition says about the poor and social justice applies to the survivors of clerical sexual abuse who have been treated with anything but justice and compassion by most Catholic leaders and by the Jesuit community.
And when he concludes that the proof that Pope Francis means what he says about the poor will be his willingness to apply his social-justice principles to survivors of clerical abuse in the Catholic church . . . .
