A "Forest Fire" in the Roman Catholic Church

Sunday April 10, 2010 7:00 pm
Not surprisingly my thoughts have been on the present situation in the Roman Catholic Church over the past days.

Archbishop Mancini of Halifax NS (my last blog) called it “a storm”.

My image is that of a “forest fire”.

Forest fires are destructive and bring about tragic results in the short term
Those familiar with forest patterns remind us that there is a good side to forest fires.

A forest fire burns away all the dead wood, fallen trees and rotting undergrowth. This allows a new stand of trees to grow in the succeeding 50 and 100 years.

The present “forest fire” in the Roman Catholic Church is certainly causing harm and destruction.

I am not using the analogy of a forest fire in speaking of child sexual abuse itself. Child sexual abuse does not have a silver lining. There is no redeeming aspect to it.

I am speaking of the aftermath and how it is affecting the Roman Catholic Church at the present time.

I am referring to the way in which the Roman Catholic Church is called to examine itself in the present crisis.

This “forest fire” in the church will burn away dead and rotting wood and in it’s place will stand a new and vibrant “forest” 50 and 100 years from now.