Growing up Catholic and attending Catholic schools put me under the influence of the Sisters of St. Ursula, and later the Sisters of St. Joseph. The Ursulines were my teachers in elementary school and high school. Some of the older ladies of the cloth constantly reminded us to be "true to our school." If we misbehaved in public, they would be sure to hear about it. They taught me that it isn't what I do in front of them, or anyone else for that matter, as much as how I act whenever I think no one would ever know. Public sins are publicly repented, punished, and forgiven. The secret sins are the malignacies that harm our well-being. Such secrets create fear of being found out which leads to mistrust, paranoia, and often, even more bad behavior.
This is certainly evident in the current child abuse scandals rocking the Catholic Church on a daily basis. It doesn't help that certain church leaders keep stirring the pot by blaming outside influences instead of taking responsibility. The priesthood has long been one of the most honored professions in the world. Now it is sadly one of the most despised. Even within the American prison system, "snake eyes" as child molesters are called, are dealt with by the prisoner community. Truly there is "honor among thieves," who may not respect themselves or others in general but respect the sancity of a child's innocence.
The first play Joseph Papp produced for a prison inmate playwright was "Snake Eyes" by Miguel Pinero. The story centers around the treatment a convicted child molester is given when the other prisoners learn of his crime. It is a tough show to watch, but the message is clear: children are off limits. They deserve the opportunity to live and grow, to learn and to play, to make themselves legendary. Regardless of the choices the people we send to prison make, they know this one truth and they honor it. I was assigned this role once in an acting class, that of the child molester. It was a very difficult role because there wasn't anything about him with which I could identify. My only way into this character was to remember that this man was married, respected and well-liked by his community until his secret sin was discovered. This wasn't a public sin that could bring easy absolution. It was a sin that required punishment, degradation, and pain of the purpetrator, both outside of the prison as well as inside. He may have thought no one was looking, but someone always sees. God is always there. The priests, bishops, and especially the Pope would do well to remember the lessons taught them by the nuns. There are no secrets which cannot be discovered. There are no secrets that can escape justice.
When Pope John XXIII openned the Second Vatican Council in 1962, his theme was a command from Jesus: "Go, rebuild my Church, for it has nearly fallen down." If Benedict is to walk in his predessor's footsteps, he had best adopt the motto of legendary the people he follows: "If you seek truth you will not seek victory by dishonorable means." The Church cannot hide behind itself and expect to survive. It needs to stand for truth above all else.
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