4th Sunday of Easter

Good Shepherd Sunday 

April 25, 2010

Dear Parishioners:    

 Much has been written, discussed and debated, in the past few years, regarding clergy sexual abuse. 

As a Church committed to proclaiming Christ as “the Way, the Truth and the Life..,.!!!” we must witness to the truth and humbly acknowledge where we have failed. It should not be a surprise to us that a Church that lives and ministers in a real world would not also reflect the wounds and struggles of that real world. This is not said as a way of justification because I firmly believe that we, who preach the Word and are called to lead, should be more accountable to give the kind of example that we urge others to embrace. We should also recognize that those called to leadership and responsibility, whether they are priests, bishops, the Pope himself, parents, coaches, teachers, politicians, are also all in need of redemption.          Jesus established His Church, not on the foundation of saints, but very human followers, most of whom failed Him when He needed them most - - during His Passion and death - - but it did not prevent Him from calling them with all their faults, their sins and their shortcomings, to be entrusted with the continuation of His ministry. The Church must honestly face its sinfulness and I feel that great attempts have been made to address the issues of abuse. On our part, we must recognize that the issue of sexual abuse is a human problem, not a Catholic problem alone.

The following is an excerpt from a reflection by Sam Miller, a prominent Jewish businessman from Cleveland, Ohio, who, effectively in my opinion, puts the larger issue in a great perspective.

Why would newspapers carry on a vendetta on one of the most important institutions that we have today in the United States, namely the Catholic Church? Do you know - the Catholic Church educates 2.6 million students everyday at the cost to your Church of 10 billion dollars, and a savings on the other hand to the American taxpayer of 18 billion dollars.Your graduates go on to graduate studies at the rate of 92%, all at a cost to you. To the rest of the Americans it's free.The Church has 230 colleges and universities in the U.S. With an enrollment of 700,000 students.The Catholic Church has a non-profit hospital system of 637 hospitals, which account for hospital treatment of 1 out of every 5 people - not just Catholics - in the United States today. But the press is vindictive and trying to totally denigrate in every way the Catholic Church in this country.• They have blamed the disease of pedophilia on the Catholic Church, which is as irresponsible as blaming adultery on the institution of marriage. Let me give you some figures that you as Catholics should know and remember. For example, • 12% of the 300 Protestant clergy surveyed admitted to sexual intercourse with a parishioner; 38% acknowledged other inappropriate sexual contact in a study by the United Methodist Church,• 41.8 % of clergy-women reported unwanted sexual behavior; • 17% of laywomen have been sexually harassed.
Meanwhile, 1.7% of the Catholic clergy has been found guilty of pedophilia. 10% of the Protestant ministers have been found guilty of pedophilia. This is not a Catholic Problem. A study of American priests showed that most are happy in the priesthood and find it even better than they had expected, and that most, if given the choice, would choose to be priests again in face of all this obnoxious PR the church has been receiving. The Catholic Church is bleeding from self-inflicted wounds. The agony that Catholics have felt and suffered is not necessarily the Fault of the Church. You have been hurt by a small number of wayward priests that have probably been totally weeded out by now. Walk with your shoulders high and you head higher. Be a proud member of the most important non-governmental agency in the United States. Then remember what Jeremiah said: 'Stand by the roads, and look and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is and walk in it, and find rest for your souls'. Be proud to speak up for your faith with pride and reverence and learn what your Church does for all other religions. Be proud that you're a Catholic.        

 Today, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, is “Good Shepherd Sunday,” a time for us to pause and reflect on the ministry of leading and guiding God’s people with the compassion, courage and total dedication of a shepherd - - The Good Shepherd. It is also “World Day of Prayer for Vocations,” when we must commit ourselves to praying for, encouraging and affirming vocations. In several weeks, more than a dozen men will be ordained as priests to serve the Church of Newark. They will be followed, next year, by almost two dozen men who will be ordained transitional deacons this May and priests in 2011. Two of our own parishioners: Carmine Rizzi and Joseph Pavone are preparing for the priesthood in the Major and College Seminary. They, like many generous young men, are saying YES to God and His Church and looking to the Good Shepherd to guide and serve as a model for them, despite the negative picture of the faults of the priesthood that we are confronted with on an almost daily basis! The grace of God and Light of Christ are still at work, affirming again, that we are more than a merely human institution, but a Church founded by and sustained by the grace of God.

Peace,Msgr. Paul