Some letter writers, it seems, if they cannot find something bad to say about the Catholic Church or its various representatives, strain to make something bad out of even the good things being done. An example was the Sept. 25 letter, “Money for bishops’ DVD could be better spent,” which criticized Minnesota bishops for sending a DVD to all Catholic parishes instead of using some other method of communication.
The simple answer to the letter writer is found in St. Mark’s gospel and the story about the lady who poured precious oil on Jesus’ feet.
Lest the letter writer and others who feel the same way drag out the old canard about sexually deviant priests, their favorite whipping post, we admit they exist. Contrary to what the church teaches, sinners exist in the church, which offers the sacrament of penance to those truly repentant, something no one else has the power to absolve.
The issue here is how the church spends its resources. There is nobody today, nor for the last 2,000 years, who has done more for the poor, the sick, the widowed, abused women, the family or orphans than the Catholic Church through her armies of vowed religious nuns, priests and brothers who have given up their rights to family, wealth and independence. They take vows, risk failure but count on prayer and God’s grace to live their lives for others, full-time and in ways critics would not dare because they would find doing so impossible. And how about all those wonderful female saints canonized from year one?
Father Richard Partika
Duluth Duluth News Tribune
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