In approximately 2 years my eldest daughter will make her first holy communion. A huge day in the life of any young Irish Catholic. It’s become something that she and many of her friends are beginning to understand. They haven’t discovered a respect for God or a true understanding of Christianity; how could they be expected to; they are 5 years old. To them the sacrament of holy communion is simply a day out in a very pretty dress, with all the attention being lavished upon them for the entire day; a party in their honor, and a coming of age. It’s a day every catholic parent looks forward to, and can probably remember their own experience of holy communion well enough, that they can fully relate to the excitement of their child. From communion the child will move on to confirmation and hopefully on to marriage. Like every proud father I look forward to the day I walk either of my daughters down the aisle and deliver them into the arms of a man I know I can trust, in the church where they were baptized. But, do I want them to be catholics any more?
Father Oliver O’Grady molested, raped and abused over 25 children, across five different parishes in Northern California, between 1973 and 1993. In 1976 he wrote a letter of confession to the parents of the children he had molested in the previous three years; a copy of this letter was given to the Bishop of Stockton, California, under whom Father O’Grady served. Despite the existence of this letter, Father O’Grady was allowed to sexually abuse children for the next 17 years, after the Catholic hierarchy continually moved him; at one point promoting him. Oliver O’Grady himself approached the church and asked for help, admitting he had a serious problem that he could not control. The church arranged for the priest to be given counseling. They also relocated him to avoid any trouble. The night before Father O’Grady was due to give testimony regarding Cardinal Roger Michael Mahony’s awareness of his history as a child molester, Cardinal Mahony’s attorneys visited his cell and arranged to provide Oliver O’Grady with a regular financial payment once he reached 65; for this, he would agree to remain silent. Oliver O’Grady has one year left before he can start to collect this money. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison, having been convicted on only four counts of ‘lewd and lascivious acts’; he served 7 years. Today Oliver O’Grady is a free man in Ireland.
So why be a Catholic? Why dress up your children and instill in them a respect for God and the church, when someone like Oliver O’Grady has had their unimaginable crimes covered up, by the very men preaching purity from the pulpit? Is it custom? Is it habit? Is it the fear they won’t have their day in the sun wearing a pretty dress?
If you read the first few chapters of ‘The God Delusion’ by Richard Dawkins, you will find he has outlined several different types of religious beliefs. The one that stood out for me, was the idea of Pantheism. A brief description from wikipedia.org reads-’Pantheism is the view that the Universe (Nature) and God are identical, or that the Universe (including Nature on Earth) is the only thing deserving the deepest kind of reverence. As such Pantheism promotes the idea that God is better understood as a way of relating to nature and the Universe as a whole - all that was, is and shall be - rather than as a transcendent, mental, personal or creator entity. Pantheists thus do not believe in a personal, anthropomorphic or creator god.’ Not too bad eh? I like it already. It’s a bit new age, but when has that ever been bad?
From what I can gather Pantheism has no history of sexual abuse cover ups. In fact, Pantheists don’t even go to church from what I can see. Should we direct our children towards this type of religious belief, or should we stay the old road and hope no more monsters are lurking in the closet? As a Catholic nation and as a Christian people we are told we should not bare false gods before our own. As parents we are compelled and obligated to protect our children from harm at all costs. So, give me Pantheism, or give me death. Would you whole heartedly trust the church with your children, knowing full well that further up the ladder sits somewhere, someone willing to put theirs ,and the church’s, interests ahead of the sexual innocence of a child.
I am still a Catholic. It’s been my identity since I was a boy and I doubt I will ever change it. I have been lucky enough, like thousands of others, to have never suffered sexual abuse either inside or outside of the Catholic church. But having seen the video footage of Bob Jyono, who’s daughter Ann was repeatedly raped by Oliver O’Grady in their home while they slept, I can’t help but defy my own faith, just like Bob, who raged, “There is no God!”. Bob Jyono’s life has been ruined by what happened. He was the protector, and he allowed a monster in to his home and put his daughter at risk. He has the look of a man that can never forgive himself.
There is a saying, ‘if you don’t buy a ticket you won’t win the lottery.’ Enough to make you want to go out and play the numbers, wouldn’t you say? But the only thing that will race around my mind if I decide that my children are safe in the care and guidance of the Catholic church, will be the global lottery slogan; It could be you!
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