Dear Friends,
With all the chatter on social media this week concerning the ongoing revelations about the cover-ups in the church with regard to criminal conduct by clergy, it was impossible for me not to think and pray about it. Therefore, I reflected on sin and evil in the midst of the church’s leadership. There are lots of theories as to why it happened and those who like to see conspiracies everywhere have come up with their own kind of “mafia”operating within the church. Let me reflect with you on a simple theory of mine that arises from an epic poem.
Have you ever read Paradise Lost by John Milton? It was first published in 1667. It is a long epic poem
that has shaped our culture’s view of the fall of Satan, the loss of the garden of paradise, and the ongoing temptations by Satan on humanity. I often find that what people think is in the bible about the fall of Satan is actually from Milton and Paradise Lost. The poem contains truths about human nature.
If you examine the Satanic temptations in Paradise Lost you will conclude that every sin is the lesser of
two evils. You cannot truly understand what temptation is unless you understand that lust always presents itself as the lesser of two evils, and theft always presents itself as the lesser of two evils, as do pride and gluttony and all the rest. The devil says, “Better to steal than for your children to suffer,” or, “Better to give in to lust than lose the whole afternoon in distraction” or “better to lie than to tell the truth and have to endure embarrassment and dishonor.”
This is what I think the bishops did in not reporting priests to the police and not protecting children more than the reputation of the Church. The world is a fallen place, full of unenviable decisions. Better to brave a bad decision than to refrain from choosing at all. Sin always presents itself as a way out, an escape. Sin is a godsend.When discerned in this manner, the lesser of two evils is no evil at all. This is what Satan teaches us. This is how he wins.
The church leadership gave into the temptation of Satan in Paradise Lost. A little sin is no sin at all when it is committed to keep from what they considered a greater sin. The little ones would suffer so that the Church could continue its good work. They fell into the temptation fully and they thought they were acting wisely. It takes prudence and wisdom to discern which sin is smaller, which evil is lesser, does it not? How could something arrived at by prudence and wisdom be wrong?
We all fall into this pattern if we are honest. We sin to avoid hassling others, to avoid hurting the feelings of others, to avoid pestering wives, to avoid insulting husbands, to calm our boss, to be secure in the future. The world is a fallen place, full of unenviable decisions. However, the truth is that both good choices and sinful choices involve something unpleasant. The difference between the two has to do with the timing of the suffering.
Vice grants pleasure now, virtue grants pleasure later. The person who chooses evil is typically choosing
to suffer later, whereas the person who yields to the exacting standards of the good chooses to suffer now. The holy person lives by faith and a promise of the future, not by the flesh. Evil does not make promises for thefuture, for Satan prefers the convenient, the now, the quick simple pleasure.
This is a painful time for those in Church leadership. Please pray for them and pray for the Church. Pray that they do the wise and holy thing of being good – now. The evil they have done in the past has caught up with them and us. We are all suffering because of their desire to protect a reputation rather than confront the evil. Let us all learn from their mistakes and not fall into the temptation to take the easier road, the lesser way and the quicker route. The world is a fallen place, full of unenviable decisions. Choose to be with the light and with God
– even if it is harder.
Peace,
Fr. Damian