A Public Denial

I was more than happily surprised when I accidentally turned on a cable news program last evening and saw a panel consisting of two priests and a layman being introduced by a popular female TV commentator.

“Good” I thought. We are beginning to face this problem head on and it will be the beginning of our admission of guilt and hopefully, a solution.

The two priests, one older; the other younger and obviously more skilled in TV appearances, spoke first. Both sounded credible, realistic, and their insight gave me hope that the mounting liturgical problems were finally being addressed.

At least, I must add, they both attempted to speak. Father M, the younger one, was interrupted constantly by the vocal layman sitting between the two clergymen. Their brief scheduled segment began to be embarrassing to watch. I was horrified by the strident denial and accusations voiced by the unrelenting layman.

The experienced Moderator began to lose her controlled poise, and attempted to quiet the outburst. To no avail until Father M finally controlled the outburst of his fellow panelist. In a quiet voice, he quelled the vocal tantrum and proceeded to speak calmly with honesty, intelligence and realism.

Despite my recent concerns about the clergy, I was impressed and grateful for the strength and obvious integrity of both priests. As I continued to watch the ongoing fracas, I soon realized how difficult these recent weeks have been for good men who entered the priesthood and did no wrong

Then like a blast of fire, the layman launched into another tirade accusing the PA Grand Jury findings of bigotry. Sitting on my white couch, I cringed. The blonde TV anchor’s facial appearance seemed to verge on horror as her guest persisted in wild, senseless, unfair accusations. The program abruptly ended, and only added to the embarrassment of saddened Catholic viewers watching what could have been a productive dialogue.

This morning I Googled the Layman and discovered to my shock he has 3500 Followers. I wonder if any of them watched his TV appearance last evening.

His public denial of reality is a major cause of the current scandal and cannot continue if our beloved Church is to survive.