Cardinal Pell, Suffering Apostle

Given the climate in most dioceses today, I thank God that we still have men who respond to God's call to the priesthood. All that's needed to destroy permanently a priest's (or a deacon's) reputation is a single "credible" charge of sexual abuse. Such a charge leads to the immediate removal of the priest from his ministry, and even if that charge is investigated and the priest is cleared of any wrongdoing, it's unlikely he will ever again return to pastoral ministry. Guilty until proven innocent...and then never really innocent, but always guilty in the minds of many, certainly in the secular media.   

All of this exists in a cultural environment where the Catholic Church, as well as Christianity in general, is not just under attack, but despised by the media and political elites. The media has framed the story as one of pedophilia, so the public will assume it's all about priests abusing young children. The truth is something quite different. The vast majority of cases concerning priestly abuse of minors involve not young children but post-pubescent teenaged boys. That's right, it's really all about predatory homosexuality. But this would conflict with the zeitgeist that extols the "normality" of homosexual behavior. 

In recent decades far too many bishops have ignored the blatant homosexuality of candidates for the priesthood and have ordained men who have gone on to become predators. Others live lives of near open homosexuality in total opposition to Church teaching. In writing this I am not merely reporting what others have written; no, I can speak here from first-hand knowledge. And it's not limited to seminarians and priests; sadly, active homosexuality of the Cardinal McCarrick kind, is a trait possessed by more than a few of our bishops. It took over 20 years before the bishops decided that maybe their draconian policies should perhaps apply to bishops as well. 

In the face of this, the prevailing culture, then, must conjure up abuse allegations against those who most strongly support and preach the Church's orthodox beliefs. The culture's most famous victim is George Cardinal Pell, who for years had been, and remains, one of my ecclesial heroes. Cardinal Pell was convicted of several counts of child abuse despite hard evidence that should have exonerated him. After serving 13 months of a six-year sentence he was finally freed in April when Australia's high court unanimously overturned his conviction. 

George Cardinal Pell

About his trial and his time in prison, the Cardinal said, "I was quite confident that my small sufferings -- and they weren't enormous -- were something that could be offered, with Christ's suffering, for the good of the Church...I knew I was innocent, I knew logically and forensically that I had a very strong case, that I would be vindicated. But in a spectacular failure, the most senior judges in Victoria were unable to see that." (It was a 2 to 1 decision.)  Ultimately, the nation's high court recognized the injustice that had been committed, and unanimously acquitted him. 

Cardinal Pell, as every Christian should be, is the ultimate optimist: "The irony of it is -- and it's demonstrated in the Catholic world in Belgium, Holland, Quebec, and to some extent in Switzerland and Austria -- the more you adapt to the world, the faster the Catholic Church goes out of business...but aversity is not necessarily bad for the Church. Adversity can bring the best out of us." 

If you'd like to read more about legal issues surrounding this apostle's journey in the midst of today's world, read this article by Gerard V. Bradley, law professor at Notre Dame: Cardinal Pell Acquitted

Ignatius Press plans to publish the Cardinal's prison journal early next year, a book that is already being praised as a likely classic. Read about it here: Spiritual Classic.

Is there a message in all this to our bishops? From my limited and lowly perspective I would encourage our bishops to turn to the Apostles, to be Apostolic in their approach to the world. The Apostles gave their lives for the faith. They didn't fear bad publicity. They didn't fear the loss of federal funds. They didn't fear the loss of tax exemptions. They didn't turn to their lawyers, asking, "What should I do?" No, they proclaimed the truth, constantly, loudly, and boldly, but always mercifully. They listened to and followed the Lord Jesus' command:

"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the ned of the age" [Mt 28:19-20].

Pray for Pope Francis and our bishops.