From the Editor: May Another Take His Office

Acts teaches us not to despair when betrayers are found in the ministry--for every Judas, two will be found willing to replace him.

The disturbing news about Legion of Christ founder Marcial Maciel brought fresh to mind the priest abuse scandal from which the Catholic Church is trying to heal. Is this ever going to end? Just when you think it can’t get any worse, another bomb is dropped.

Certainly these are trying times for the Church, and many believe things will worsen still because such news will have a negative impact on men wanting to serve the Church as priests (or deacons).

But those who feel this way forget the divine nature of the Church; they fail to understand that men young and old open themselves to the ordained ministry not because of the example of priests they know. Rather, they do so in response to Christ. For this reason, this latest scandal will not prevent men coming forward to submit to the discipline of holy orders.

In fact, a lesson from Scripture gives us reason to believe that such public betrayals will have a positive effect on the numbers of would-be priests.

Men like Maciel are Judases, plain and simple. But Acts of the Apostles relates the story of how the newborn Church replaced Judas. It tells us that two men offered to fill the charge of the betrayer, but only one, Matthias, was selected by lots after invocation of the Holy Spirit.

There is a lesson here for us in our Church today. When betrayers like Judas are found out and removed from ministry, the Spirit will always supply two men willing to accept the post that the betrayer spurned. So, far from worrying that depraved, abusive priests will sour young men on the priesthood, we actually learn that their departure will give the Church such an abundance of qualified applicants that she will have to turn some away.

In fact, the belief that this negative press will hurt the priesthood can actually be harmful if it feeds a desire to cover-up cases of sex abuse. Rather, armed with the confidence that God will more than supply His Church with pure shepherds to replace Judases, let us be not afraid to root out every last sex abuser, however high in the hierarchy we find him.

 This article appeared in the February 11, 2009 issue of The Loyal Lion.