Bishop reveals letters of support for priests under fire”One or two letters – I don’t consider that negative. None of our priests have indicated that Easter Sunday services were down. I get the sense that if a persecution is going on – for good or bad reasons – it strengthens people,’ Bishop Bosco said.
“You must realize throughout our broad history that the Catholic Church has had its saints and scoundrels, the strong and the weak,’ he continued. “The reason we believe the Church will survive events such as these is that Christ said he’d be with the Church, the Holy Spirit would be with the Church until the end of time.’ Bishop Bosco said he considers pedophilia to be a “serious disorder that can’t be treated only by prayer.’
He added, “I also hear it has nothing to do with celibacy. I don’t hear that stressed as much (by the media).’
The bishop also spoke out against jokes that are being made about the issue.
“I don’t think there’s anything funny about pedophilia and to see people making jokes about it shows how far we have sunk,’ he said.
Asked if the Catholic Church is changing its screening process when accepting applications from men who want to be priests, Bishop Bosco said, “I don’t think the screening process is able to discover this.’
He recommended as a safeguard that parents should discuss with their children what is proper behavior and what is not. The bishop noted, however, that sometimes – such as when the alleged abuse involves a family member – parents don’t want to hear such reports from their children.
For the priests who are facing allegations of misconduct, Bishop Bosco said, “They’re devastated and immediately concerned about what’s going to happen to them.’
He also noted that while civil law says a person is innocent until proven guilty, “We have turned the law upside down so (these priests) are guilty until proven innocent.’