One of the things that amazes me about the entire situation is the number of people who left the church because of the abuse. The title of this post is Put No Trust in Princes. If your faith lies in the Institutional Church you will be let down at every turn. Why do I say that, because human beings are in charge of it and we are flawed. Your faith belongs in one man and one man only and that is Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I have often said that the wheels came off the wagon for the church the day after the Ascension. It was the first full day that humans were in charge of the church and if you read Acts you will see that the arguments began almost right away. The Hellenists complained that their widows were not getting attention. The Gentiles complained that they should not have to follow the laws of the Jews and so on. I will say again, if your faith is in the Institutional Church then you will be let down.
Orthodox and Catholic Theology states that the priest stands In Person Christi, in the person of Christ. Not that the priest is another Christ, but the priest stands in for Christ. The Sacraments of the church do not rely on the Holiness of the Priest, thanks be to God for that! We pray to God that my insignificance and sins should not be held against anyone. The Holy Spirit is the one who “performs” if you will the Sacrament, I am just the vessel that is used by the Holy Spirit. I can be the most horrible wretch on the face of the earth, yet the Sacraments are valid and Grace filled because they do not rely on me but on the Holy Spirit.
If you belong to a church because of a person or a program, then you belong for the wrong reason. You should find a church whose theology you agree with regardless of the priest, minister, rabbi, Imam, or what have you. We do need community as this is where we live out our spirituality but I say again you should not belong to a church simply because you like the guy who stands in front.
The Institutional Church is as flawed, if not more so, than any other corporation in the world. The Devil is after the church, and make no mistake about it, sin comes from the Devil! Yes the Devil is real and sin is real! The Devil wants nothing more than to bring the church down. Each time a person leaves the church, and does not return, the Devil rejoices.
I am not saying that people should not be held accountable for their actions, no I am saying the opposite. Clergy, Priests, Bishops, Popes, etc are held to a higher standard. We are the moral leaders of the community and we should be held to a higher standard. To my clergy brothers and sisters who read this, if you do not want to be held to that standard it is time to find another line of work. It is hard being in the spotlight, but we chose this and we knew this coming in. Yes when the church fails it hurts, the cover up, the lies, the tom foolery that goes on needs to stop.
I submit that anyone who abused, covered up abuse, or in anyway tried to hide things from proper authority should be removed from their position in the Church. The Church needs to come clean and open the records of all and for all to see. The best disinfectant is sun light. The Church, and by that I mean all Churches because believe it or not, all of our churches are guilty of this, needs to come clean and repent of her sins.
If you are considering leaving your church because of something that someone has done, I would ask you to reconsider and to stay because of something that someone has done. Jesus Christ died for your sins and mine. For the Popes sins, for the bishops sins, and for the priests sins. Jesus is the reason one attends church not a man or a woman who stands in front and leads the church. You will be disappointed in the flawed nature of that person. Listen we all make mistakes, and clergy are no different.
Put no trust in Princes. Put your trust in Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ. He is the only one that will not let you down!
Your point is spot-on.
I have to remind myself about this every single day, and it is certainly not easy to do. Considering where I've been myself it takes a lot to keep this in perspective. But it is always good to be reminded that humans are not in charge of what is beyond our comprehension….
Thanks for such wise words, my friend.
Your point is, indeed, spot-on! I am reminded of two things: Cardinals (and Popes?) are called "princes of the church"… and a convert from the RCC to the EOC, who has a blog and a newspaper column, wrote that he was horrified to discover a gay priest in the Roman church and so he was becoming EOC. I have no idea if the priest was celibate… but I wrote the man and said, "You know, there are gay clergy in the EOC as well…" It did no good b/c he was running away from something rather than running *to* God. I know of one Deacon, and one Subdeacon and one Reader who all left the Antioichian archdiocese because of an abusive priest. The Subdeacon went elsewhere and continues to serve God in his Church. The Deacon and the Reader… they left entirely as if one bad priest is a sign there is no God.
We are all often running away rather than to. We put our trust in Princes and the Sons of Adam. I wish you'd been around to speak to those departing souls.
Good points Fr. Peter as someone who went to Seminary for a while with you I usually find your commentary fair and enlightening and I agree with you on this one. It makes me sweat just thinking that someone might come to Mass just to hear ME! Please God I don't want to be hindrance, but the reason for faith is Jesus not me.
The problem is for many hundreds of years priest and bishops asked to be treated like an elite group. before the advent of the printed bible's availablity to all,what the clergy said was the truth,no questions asked.
A priest/bishop carried an emormous amount of influence over their people especially when the only way a person could know the rules was by what they were told.
Back in the 1970's and earlier, no person would have questioned anything a priest asked of them,even if it seemed improper.
Today all people,includeing the clergy,need to be accountable for their actions.
God called all people to be servents he said that the greater you are the more humbly you should serve.
Sometimes those with authority forget this especially when they are wearing a crown on their head,silk robes and allowing people to kiss their hands.
With such treatment You would have to be a very strong person to remember you are here to serve.
It must be like being a rock star always being told how wonderful and special you are.sometimes it must make cergy forget who they are and why they took the job.