The last couple of weeks have, indeed, been painfully tumultuous for all of our Church members. The "Fall from Grace" of Cardinal McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington, was shocking enough. After that we had the release of the Grand Jury Report on clergy sexual abuse of children in six dioceses of Pennsylvania over the last seventy years. Then, last Sunday, the release of a six page letter written by Archbishop Viganò, the former Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, claiming that the Vatican was aware of the offenses of Cardinal McCarrick and did nothing about it. Archbishop Viganò then goes on to suggest that Pope Francis should resign. Just what is going on with our Church?

It's like a tsunami or an earthquake. All of these events have shocked and saddened all the members of our Church. I'm sure that, for many Catholics, their Faith in the Church has been severely shaken. However, it's important for all of us to keep in mind what our Faith is about. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, our Faith is about Jesus Christ. We believe that Jesus is our Lord and Savior, that He lived and died and rose again victoriously and that now Jesus shares His risen life with all of us as we walk the road of life. And it is Jesus, Himself, Who calls us to share in the fullness of His risen life in the Kingdom.

We also need to keep in mind that it is Jesus Who established our Church on the rock of Peter and the other apostles. He said that the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church. With all that has come to light over the past few weeks, it might seem that the gates of hell are prevailing. However, Jesus promised us that He would be with us all days, even until the end of times. Jesus is not deserting us now and will make sure that our Church will survive, cleansed and purified.

Pope Francis has acknowledged that sins and crimes have been committed against God's children by those who should have been protecting them. Pope Francis has said that our leaders have betrayed their trust and has begged for forgiveness from all those who have been offended. Pope Francis has also given us his word that this scourge will be eliminated from our Church.

In the meantime we pray for all those who have been painfully wounded by these terrible offenses. May the Lord heal them and restore them to the fullness of peace and health. Over the last fifteen years, our own diocese has initiated many programs that are aimed at guaranteeing that our children are protected from all harm. All those in our parishes who have anything to do with children, either in school or at Church, go through a regular Safe Environment training. Our Church is doing and will continue to do everything possible for the ongoing welfare of our children.

There is an old saying that states that the Church is always in need of reform. Whereas we might not have known about all of these horrible problems in the past, everyone is aware of them now. With Faith in Jesus and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, our Church will rise from the darkness of selfishness and sin and continue to follow Jesus, the light of the world, into a much healthier, vibrant Church in the future.

Have a good week ahead. God bless you all!