Monday 5 April 2010

Media mischief or institutional blindness?

I see that the Vatican's spokesman/friend/supporter on BBC R4 this morning again turned to the defence that there an anti-Cathiolic stance is very much in vogue and that many of the issues facing catholicism stem from this 'ant-semitic' styled abhorrence and undermining.

I got lost by his maths but he seemed at one stage to say that there was only 958 paedophile priests and then suddenly it was only 1:4,000 which then transmuted into the more acceptable, "One in the whole corpus of priests would of course be too many!"

I heard a broadcast in which one of those phoning in claimed the 'faithful Catholics' would not be swayed by media reports or incidents of abuse in their communities - they would be loyal regardless of what people tell them because Catholics don't sway from their allegiance to the Pope and the church just because of what's going on.

This is something to applaud and be concerned at in equal measure. Loyalty is excellent, blind loyalty less so and I think the damage some seeking to help might be worse than the initial concerns.

This is a crisis and it seems that only some of those involved are helping better the situation.

What lessons does this have for the CofE I wonder, for I'm sure that they (and other denominations too) are not exempt?

Specks and motes, judging and being judged, rejoicing in the situations facing others - all seem to be applicable here.

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