In the wake of the recent naming of Southcentral Alaska Catholic clergy and employees credibly accused of sexual abuse, I want to thank all the true priests of Jesus Christ, including Bishop Andrew Bellisario, who continue to labor steadfastly under the stigma of the perpetrators and cooperators of these horrible crimes.
I’ve lived in Southcentral Alaska through all my 60 years, benefiting immeasurably from scores of priests who have given their all in absolute integrity and generosity. I feel that I will only be able to thank them adequately in heaven.
Comprehensive studies confirm that the proportion of sexual abuse among Catholic clergy is significantly lower than in other measured populations, such as public schools, non-Catholic churches, etc. Therefore, the disproportionate attention to abuse in the context of Catholic institutions suggests that Christians and non-Christians alike have the highest expectations of the original and universal church, as well they might. No wonder Satan and his minions are hell-bent on defacing the Bride of Christ by means of wolves in clerical collars. The weeds in the parable of the weeds and the wheat are a variety that looks just like wheat.
Stay tuned for this evil effort to be overcome in the most unlikely way imaginable. As G.K. Chesterton observed, the renewal of the church always comes from the young. Vocations to the priesthood are on the rise via joyful, utterly selfless souls like one of my former students at Lumen Christi High School, ordained two years ago for the Archdiocese of Anchorage. Such souls offer themselves as sacrificial lambs in union with the Lamb of God. Deo gratias.
— Therese J. Syren
Anchorage
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