"Members of the Catholic Church commit sins and do evil things, sometimes really, really evil things."

A reader just left the following comment, which really needs no additional commentary:

Anne Rice asks:

"Is there a conflict of interest here on this blog?
Is anyone connected with this blog a friend or associate of notorious convicted sexual abuser, Jesuit Donald McGuire?

If this is the case, perhaps you can explain in detail."

My family and I knew Donald McGuire (I won't call him "Fr. McGuire") for many, many years. He was very close to us. He presided at my wife's and my wedding, as well as my brother's wedding. I participated in many retreats he led, including many in my parents' home, where he was surrounded by children and grandchildren as we all ate dinner together in the evenings.

Through it all, we all thought he was a wise and holy man. He was highly intelligent and had a disarming way about him. We never had a clue what a deviant son of a bitch he was. We never knew that he was probably lusting mightily for another victim among us. Luckily, he never molested any of us or our kids or grandchildren. However, after he was revealed as a molester, I recalled a confession with him when I was a teenager and he rubbed my shoulders as he talked to me. I thought it was odd at the time, but I figured he was trying to be sensitive and compassionate and that's as far as it went. Perhaps I was too old for him.

If I had the chance, I would give McGuire a piece of my mind. I would tell him how disgusted I am with him and how deeply hurt I am that he has caused such pain and anguish, as well as scandal, as a result of his deviance. I would tell him how utterly disappointed I am that he was such a filthy sham. But most of all, I would beg one thing of him: that he genuinely repent and ask for forgiveness from God and his victims. My understanding is that he has refused to do so to this day. And that, too, is a tragedy.

Jesus told us the weeds would grow among the wheat--and McGuire was a one helluva weed. I am thankful he was revealed for what he was. And the Jesuits who covered up his misdeeds should be "weeded out" as well.

But none of this has anything whatsoever to do with the truth of the one, holy Catholic, and apostolic Church. People who persecute the Church because some men have committed evil do exactly what the devil would have them do. Members of the Catholic Church commit sins and do evil things, sometimes really, really evil things. That's no surprise. Those who aren't sick do not need a doctor.

But God gave us the Church as His Mystical Body. No evil by any individual, whether it's a lay person, priest, bishop or pope, changes that fact nor can it change the nature of the Church.

My faith wasn't shattered one bit knowing that McGuire was a fraud and a scumbag. It only confirmed to me that we so need the Grace that flows through the Church. My prayer remains that even a miscreant like McGuire will participate in that Grace by confessing his sins, repenting, and atoning.

Thank you, Tom. Here is a lengthy 2007 NPR news article about McGuire and his sickening past. Shortly after it was written, McGuire was finally dismissed from the Jesuits and laicized the next year; he is now serving a 25-year prison term after conviction on federal sex-abuse charges.