Our Lady of Lourdes

The list of clergy accused of sexual misconduct will be published this week. Once it is published, what do we do? 

First of all, pray for those — especially our precious children — who have been hurt by the evil actions of those in the Church. There is no excuse for such depravity, and clergy should be held to the highest standard. We should help those abused with counseling, love, and respect for bringing these grave offenses into the light, at times at great cost to their hearts and souls.

At the same time, we must not allow the sins of a few to discourage our faith in the Church. Our eyes need to be fixed on Christ alone! Some have become bitter and even left the Church. Please do not let the sins of a few drive you away from the graces of our sacraments. Doing so only hurts our own hearts. Some have decided to cease any giving to their parish or the larger church. This only hurts the work of the Church’s mission to serve the many who come to her for help. We minister to those in prisons, hospitals, schools, the elderly, immigrants, etc. with soup kitchens, housing, medicine, etc.

The work of the Church must continue even in the midst of crisis. The Mystical Body of Christ is called to love even in the midst of sin and failure. I cannot imagine saying that we should cease good behavior because of the sin of others. Let us rise up in a wave of great faith and holiness, and show our world that sin will not conquer.

Let us not give any more power to evil than it already has. We cannot change what was, but we can bring a renewed vigor to our Church. We began the rebuilding some seventeen years ago with the Dallas Charter. We still have a way to go to restore trust in the Church and with the release of this list, I for one, believe that together we will strive for change and conversion as disciples who follow a merciful Savior.

There are plenty of movies out there, action, romance, dramas, comedies, and more. Movies are rated by the Motion Picture Association of America, but the MPAA doesn't rate movies on their moral content. 

The USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) publishes ratings based on Catholic teaching. To read more about this, go to our movie reviews page, under the Resources category.

Please consider checking into movies before you or your family go to the theatre. Some films may seem quite innocent, but have content that is against our faith.