|
|
Article: On public repentance. (Correspondence).(molestor priests)(Brief Article)(Letter to the Editor)
- Article from:
- First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life
- Article date:
- August 1, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Institute on Religion and Public Life. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
I was struck by Richard John Neuhaus' declaration that saying who should or should not be a bishop is "way above" his job description ("Scandal Time," Public Square, April). It is certainly outside mine, since I am not a Roman Catholic. I had always understood, however, that Roman Catholics consider their priests and, a fortiori, their bishops to be their "fathers-in-God." Surely a primary obligation of a father is to protect his children. From the outside it appears that the Archbishop of Boston has signally failed to do that. If the Church continues him in his office, this inescapably weakens the credibility among outsiders of the claims the Church makes for its ...