The situation regarding Father Gordon MacRae is not lost when we consider a recent essay by Richard P. Fitzgibbons, M.D., a Psychiatrist who has written and spoken much on the subject of homosexuality on EWTN and elsewhere. It is worth reading his expert analysis and opinion on the subject. Of course, connected to the matter are the tragic cases of men who were homosexuals and who came into the Catholic priesthood to prey upon their victims and did enormous damage to the lives and souls of these victims and the Church.
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| Dr. Richard P. Fitzgibbons |
Yet, as with Father MacRae, not all priests that are accused are guilty and not all are homosexuals. Some are unjustly accused and their lives and service to the Church ruined. The leading Catholic expert on the subject, Dr. Fitzgibbons writes in the January 29, 2015 issue of Homiletic and Pastoral Review on the Accusations against Priests and the need for more justice and psychological science.
In the February 24, 2015 issue of the same magazine, California attorney David A. Shanefelt who represents policy holders against insurance companies and Joseph P. Maher, president of Opus Bono Sacderdotii, which I have previously supported, have written on the sacrificing of priests to satisfy insurance companies.
The witch-hunt that has been undertaken by some bishops is as reprehensible as their cover-up of the crimes of previous generations of priests. They were cowards then and they are cowards now. They have learnt little.
The failure of the episcopacy to the victim-priest and the victims of some priests has been a failure of responsibility and charity. It is a lack of courage and justice of the first order. One can think here of Raymond Lahey the now laicised and disgraced former Bishop of Antigonish in Canada who whist putting together settlements for victims was engaging in his own fantasies with child pornography on his computer. We are still reminded to this day that "Lahey is known as a kind and gentle pastor, particularly sensitive to the needs of those who have suffered the scourge of sexual abuse." Except of course those who suffered the abuse that occurred during the filming and photography of child pornography on his computer of this kind, gentle and sensitive pastor.
How was this not known by the Canadian episcopacy?
It's time for more Catholics to speak out on this continuing injustice and hypocrisy and I say this as someone with his own personal perspective on the matter that goes beyond the events of the last few weeks.
