{"id":5612,"date":"2019-08-13T19:36:40","date_gmt":"2019-08-13T09:36:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/?p=5612"},"modified":"2019-12-19T03:06:50","modified_gmt":"2019-12-18T16:06:50","slug":"in-this-corner-by-brod-pete-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/?p=5612","title":{"rendered":"IN THIS CORNER by Brod Pete"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

6 April 2019 <\/strong>\u2501 As I write this article, the eight centuries old, medieval\nCatholic Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris is in flames. According to the BBC,\nthe spire and the roof have collapsed but the main frame of the building is still\nintact.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notre Dame de Paris, as it is simply called is truly an iconic cathedral building\nthat has withstood the ravages of time including the French revolution of\n1789, an 1871 Commune uprising and two world wars. BBC\u2019s Henri Astier\ndescribes it as \u201can enduring embodiment of France.\u201d No other site represents\nFrance quite like the Notre Dame. It is the most popular tourist attraction in\nWestern Europe.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Describing the unfolding catastrophe, Astier writes: \u201cMany of those looking\non as flames engulf the building are in tears. Their dismay is shared by\nbelievers and non-believers alike in a nation where faith has long ceased to\nbe a binding force.\u201d Could one consider the Notre Dame fire as yet one of a\ncontinuing string of bad omens for the Catholic Church that may lead to its\nultimate demise as an institution?\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a light-hearted story I have borrowed from religious writer and former\nCatholic priest Michael Leach.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNapoleon Bonaparte once told a cardinal that he could destroy the Catholic\nChurch with his fists, in an instant, if he wanted to. The Cardinal laughed and\nsaid, \u201cWe clergy have been trying to destroy the church for eighteen hundred\nyears with our sins and stupidity but haven\u2019t come close. What makes you\nthink you can do better?\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apocryphal anecdote more than likely but nonetheless a funny story with a\nbite that could very well have come from one of the monologues of American\nTV comedian Bill Maher. Maybe not so apocryphal in light of recent\nhappenings in the Catholic Church which most of us know. (In the interest of\ntransparency, this writer is a cradle Catholic who hopes and prays to die a\nCatholic in good standing.)\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am referring of course to the past and ongoing tragedy of child sexual\nabuse… and coverup in the Church. Just to mention four prominent names\naccused and convicted of such heinous crimes\/wrongdoings:\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Fr Marcial Maciel<\/strong>, Mexican founder of the Legion of Christ, accused since\nthe 1970\u2019s of sexually abusing minors, fathered a total of 6 children with three\ndifferent women. St John Paul II, due to Maciel\u2019s old age, did not prosecute\nhim but Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI forced him to retire from public ministry\nin 2006. He died in 2008.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Cardinal Bernard Law<\/strong>, archbishop of Boston, in one case accused of\ncovering up the sexual abuse of 130 children by a priest who was moved\namong the parishes rather than being reported to the authorities. Cardinal\nLaw, now deceased, was transferred to a sinecure position in Rome after the\nscandal.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick<\/strong>, archbishop of Washington, defrocked or\nlaicised in 2018 over sex crimes against minors and adult seminarians.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. And of course our very own Cardinal George Pell<\/strong>, the highest ranked\nchurch Prelate (after the Pope and the Vatican Secretary of State) convicted\nof child sexual abuse, case pending appeal hearing on June. We all know the\nsordid media stories of this cause c\u00e9l\u00e8bre.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several years ago, Michael Leach wrote a book entitled: \u201cWhy Stay Catholic?\nUnexpected Answers to a Life-Changing Question.\u201d What is my answer?\nSame as Michael\u2019s: I won\u2019t throw the baby out with the bath water. \u201cThe baby\nis precious, it\u2019s real, it never grows old, can still give joy, peace, and\nassurance, and it\u2019s not dependent on people.\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I very highly recommend this Leach book. Where else can one find words of\ntruth such as and I quote him once again: \u201cWe live in a dualistic world. \u2018The\nworld is charged with the grandeur of God,\u2019 the poet Hopkins reminds us, but\nit\u2019s also riddled with opposites \u2501 good and bad; hot and cold; pleasure and\npain; happy and sad; war and peace; rich and poor; black and white; … the\njoy of victory and the agony of defeat; you name it, or not.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, we have Christ\u2019s promise: \u201cIn this world, you shall have trial and\ntribulation, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world!\u201d (John 16:33)\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

6 April 2019 \u2501 As I write this article, the eight centuries old, medieval Catholic Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris is in flames. According to the BBC, the spire and the roof have collapsed but the main frame of the building is still intact. Notre Dame de Paris, as it is simply called is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5612"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/139"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5612"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5612\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5613,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5612\/revisions\/5613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.philippinesentinel.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}