Refuse to be Complacent

I have been so devastated by what is happening in the Catholic Church. I’m betrayed. I’m enraged. I’m beyond words.

I’ve been Catholic all my life, by my own choice. I thought the hierarchy of the Church could be trusted. I was beyond ecstatic about Francis becoming Pope, and his message of caring for the poor and unconditional love for all. I thought the Church was moving toward a more merciful, loving witness.

Then we found out about the predator priests.

I thought things couldn’t get worse. Then they did. The Vatican was silent. When they finally started to say something, it was to have a big talk in February, six months after it happened, and then have some more bishops policing bishops. That’s what’s caused the sexual abuse to begin with, what will continue to perpetuate the sexual abuse. The Vatican is not willing to do what it takes to stop the sexual abuse. And that’s unacceptable.

I saw memes and articles telling people they shouldn’t leave the Church, that we can and will fix the Church. But what those memes and articles didn’t say is how we’ll fix things, or what methods will be taken. Just pray and offer sacrifices. No suggestions for actions or change. No acknowledgment of the fact that the laity have no power at all.

So basically, it’s like our house burned down and we’re buying all new furniture before we bother trying to rebuild the house.

To be fair, at the local parish level, I’ve seen priests talking about it, writing about it, and I believe they genuinely care. I believe the laity cares. But the problem is that the people with the power—the Vatican—clearly do not care. If they did, they wouldn’t be waiting six months to take “action.” They would have done something the next day. They would have spoken out. They wouldn’t care so much about “not giving scandal,” and instead be fighting to make this right. At this point, it isn’t just that the sexual abuse happened…that’s bad enough as it is. But now they aren’t doing anything about it. Worse than that—they want it covered up.

I’m not going to lie—that makes it difficult to stay Catholic. I love the Catholic Faith. But every time I’m at Mass, I’m angry, confused, and broken-hearted. Because it’s been a month, and by now the priests have stopped talking about it. We’re just going on as if nothing happened, as if nothing’s different, just sweeping it under the rug and glossing over it like it doesn’t matter. It’s like the hierarchy is bullying the bishops, who bully the priests, to just get back into the swing of things. They want us to look the other way, to just dull our senses enough that we stop being angry. They haven’t come out and said it. But that’s what it feels like.

But here’s why I go to Mass—none of this is Jesus’ fault. Everything about the Catholic faith is still beautiful—the saints, the Sacraments, Blessed Mother, the Eucharist. Jesus loves us very much and wants us to receive His Body and Blood and have a deep, personal, life-giving connection to Him. And I want that, too. We all should, because He loves us so much, and He promised to be with us until the end of the age.

So, I’m not saying you should leave. I’m not even saying I’ll leave. But it’s hard not to, and that’s okay. It’s okay to be angry. If we’re not angry, something is wrong with us. If we’re okay with going back to business as normal, we’re not built right. This should shake us to the core. I’m not going to tell you what to do or judge you if you leave. Only you can know the right decision for yourself. All I ask is that you don’t leave Jesus. He loves you so much. As my husband told me, we shouldn’t let what is happening destroy our relationship with Jesus. He didn’t do this.

What keeps me Catholic isn’t the hierarchy, and it isn’t the Vatican, or the Catechism. It isn’t fear. To be honest it isn’t even the Church history. It’s the Eucharist. Plain and simple. If I didn’t believe with all my heart, soul, and strength that the bread and wine become the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, I wouldn’t stay Catholic. But I do, and so as hard as it is, I’m not going anywhere.

But that doesn’t for a second mean I’m complacent. It doesn’t mean I’ve somehow dulled myself to what is going on. It doesn’t mean I’ll pretend it didn’t happen to avoid scandal. It happened. And it needs to be talked about, so that those evil, demonic priests know it is NOT acceptable and they need to answer for it. They need to be stripped of their priesthood and thrown in jail; or, if the statute of limitations has passed, be placed on a sexual offender registry and never be allowed to be near children again or practice the priesthood. Every church, every priest, every seminarian, every religious order, needs to have strict rules and in-depth background checked at the state and federal level. There needs to be laws and regulations to ensure that priests, Catholic daycare workers, nuns, or religious education teachers aren’t hurting kids. The Church needs to have the same strict laws as any other agency. The Church needs to stop hiding behind “separation of church and state.” There also needs to be laity oversight in the case of accusations, instead of just letting the bishops handle it; they clearly cannot be objective or moral.

The Church has no right to claim the moral high ground anymore. Not until the Vatican makes this right. Not until every diocese makes this right. Not until Catholics stop being afraid of questioning the hierarchy and instead hold them accountable. It’s unacceptable. And it needs to change. It’s time for the Catholic Church to change.

Look what happened because it hasn’t.