One evening recently, my daughter shared a very interesting conversation she had in one of her classes.
They were talking about the role of religion in society and a young man asked my daughter what religion she was. After she said “Roman Catholic,” he said, “Isn’t the church hurting children?”
It was a hard sentence to hear because this young man quickly identified the church by its most sinful problem, but there is more to the church than just that problem.
I wish I could speak with this class from the Roman Catholic Church. I listened with empathy to their questions and tried to answer them with as much compassion as possible. I would first like to recognize that there are priests who have done very bad things with children and there is no other way to explain this.
I would describe these men as sick and highlight how we deal with other sick people – we help them.
It’s easy to pass judgment on others when we see their imperfections, it’s much harder to look at our own imperfections and work on them with the same intensity. It’s easy to say that priests should be held to a higher standard, but I would argue that anyone in a leadership position, like Governor Andrew Cuomo or President Bill Clinton, should also know better. No human being is perfect.
I wish I could share with the class some stories of good priests that I know personally and the amazing ministry they do for their communities. I personally know all the priests in Rochester, and they are all wonderful men of God. They are compassionate, kind, caring, and deeply dedicated to their ministry.
I wish I could share with this class the enormous good that the Catholic Church is doing in this community. Each of the city’s parishes supports a St. Vincent DePaul Society that helps care for people who are struggling to make ends meet.
The city’s six Catholic churches help support Catholic charities. This social action ministry operates the Warming Center which houses homeless members of our community and provides counseling and adoption support services, to name a few.
Each of the six Catholic churches supports Rochester’s Catholic school system. More than 1,300 students receive a quality Catholic education at a reduced rate because each of the parishes contributes to their overall success. If you haven’t visited one of these schools, I encourage you to do so.
I wish I could share with this class that I worked for the Catholic Church for over 25 years and never considered leaving because I am a sinner like all those priests who committed these horrible acts against minors.
The Roman Catholic Church needs more people to defend its mission. I hope that somehow this class will get this message.
Mark Nuehring is Director of Faith Education at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Rochester. “From the Pulpit” features reflections from religious leaders in the region.
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