Here in Charlottesville the Daily Progress reports that our mother parish, Holy Comforter, has just had its pastor placed on administrative leave. I hope that the charges of pedophilia are false. This is the second time in two years that a priest has been removed from Holy Comforter. Shortly after the news broke in Boston, our former Bishop, Walter Sullivan, published an article in the Catholic Virginian saying that he had clearly told diocesan priests that pedophilia was unacceptable. It calls to mind a phrase from Luke – not the gospel of Luke but the film, Cool Hand Luke: “What we have here is a failure to communicate.”
Successful communication requires that messages sent also be received. It seems to me that the laity are sending a fairly clear message, that pedophilia is unacceptable and that the church’s leaders must take effective action. As of yet, I see little evidence that the leadership is getting the message.
Comments