Catholic church, Scouts weather a scary path

Two institutions about which I care deeply are in dire straits because of looking the other way when men behaved badly, the Boy Scouts of America and the Catholic Church.

Both are bankrupt. Boy Scouts is now “Scouting America” because that might change the stink.

The Catholic church, on the other hand, is in a bigger knot.

Apparently, reassigning priests to molest elsewhere when they we accused of inappropriate behavior and said they were sorry was not an appropriate response because a tiger does not change its stripes.

That stench has tarnished Scouting. Schoellkopf and Stonehaven are memories, just like Toad Hollow and Ta-Wa-Ya-E.

While we mourn the losses of those camps, the Catholics face unparalleled trouble.

In Buffalo, the Parish where my parents were married, and where I went to school until 4th Grade is on the closure list. Diocesan decisions were made with cold, calculation, I believe by a tone deaf patriarchy lacking empathy.

Take St. Mark. Sure, the school is healthy and growing and sure could use the rectory, but why not do some window dressing? Leave it in a family with St. Rose. Keep the sanctuary open for one Mass on Sunday morning and services related to the school. That way entitled people don’t have the chance to stomp feet and ask “how dare they, don’t they know who we are?”

Meanwhile other parishes face a rare problem. What if you have young, charismatic priest with long hair who travels internationally and speaks Latin, Spanish and Italian in a service? What happens when you assign him to a 4-church family but people leave their Parish to go where he is preaching?

That is a rare problem, but a real one in Orchard Park.

And in the middle of this discussion, comes some hard decisions. Jesus didn’t judge his followers, he loved them. He didn’t care if they were chaste, or if a woman wanted to serve in his ministry. He loved everyone. Not letting priest to marry, and requiring a vow of chastity is a false construct not justified by Scripture, at least as I have read it.

Somewhere along the way, the church lost its way. Scouting did too. Thankfully, both have a way forward. Well-intentioned men have made difficult decisions.

We might be better served to listen to women.