Divine Mercy Sunday in Longmeadow, Massachusetts

Guiding the consciences of your children has really been a hoot, hasn't it?

There's plenty of opportunities for wisdom though.

For instance, as detractors of the Church were out in full force boohooing about how the Pope and celibacy were bringing shame upon the world the bugeyed woman abusing predator and pervert was simultaneously appearing on our television sets at the Masters Tournament being welcomed with applause and accolades.

Imagine getting your family through the gauntlet of the media nonsense last week, piling your three teenage children in the car to go to Church on Divine Mercy Sunday looking forward to some fortification from your local priest along with confession, the Eucharist and plenary indulgence.   

Imagine the relief you feel as you sit in the pews knowing the Catholic Church is the place where your children won't be scandalized, misled, baited and trapped - where you know the work you've done to keep your children's feet firmly planted in the Sacraments and teachings of the Church will be cultivated.

Ok, so this is a fictional story for most of us but it does exist and we can imagine, right?

So, you pull up to St. Michael's parish in East Longmeadow, the children pile out of the car, you explain for the umpteenth hundredth time why they still need to go to Mass, you make them spit out their gum, you always catch one of them absentmindedly walking by the Sanctuary without genuflecting and you settle in.

You look around...no confessions.  No Divine Mercy Image.  There's no indication the priest even knows it's Divine Mercy Sunday.   The priest approaches the Ambo.....and says...

The church’s top leader has not been truthful, said the Rev. James Scahill of St. Michael’s Parish, violating an important tenet of the faith. His strongly worded sermon echoed sentiments he shared with parishioners several weeks ago, but this time, he spent more time and spoke with greater conviction on the controversial subject.

“Any who deny the truth deny Christ, and we, as people, must reclaim our church,’’ Scahill said in a phone interview last night. “Those in authority must be willing to admit to the truth, admit their horrific crime of coverup, and beg for forgiveness, and until that happens, there will be no healing.’’

 He'd be better to have a millstone around his neck at the bottom of Quarry Pond than to damage the discernment of children, separate them from the Body of Christ,  drive wedges into their families, their Church, their faith, their God.

Scahill has long been running around town with the Voice of the Faithless wolves. In fact, he's got a Voice of the Faithful "priest of integrity" award sitting on his shelf.

Somebody stepped up to the plate to witness:

“There were standing ovations at two Masses, and applause at the others” said Scahill, a longtime critic of the church’s handling of clergy abuse scandals.

“And one parishoner booed – and shouted ‘heretic’,” Scahill added.

Good for him!

The irony is, repentant pedophiles will long be out of purgatory before this clown. 

"Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."