The Problem with Scandal

On Catholic Online, Deacon Keith Fournier highlights the emerging scandal that Fr Marcial Marcel, Founder of the Legionaries of Christ, had a mistress and a child during his Priesthood. No doubt, this news will be used against the Church in a malicious way. While it is always a cause of sadness when a Priest is found to have broken his vow, who among us have kept our Baptismal vows, which are no less binding?

I'm no Priest, but scratch the surface of my life and it won't take you long to find grave sin or scandal! The Priest concerned, now deceased, will suffer accusations of having led a 'double life'. Yet, really, it is not surprising that he did not tell all and sundry of his alleged love affair or the child that was the result, for if he had done that, it would definitely have caused open and public scandal and he himself would have been at the heart of it and a media furore would have enveloped his personality and the Legion of Christ, itself. The Legion of Christ may have fallen apart because of the founder's affair, had it gone public then, yet now it is a strong organisation of committed Priests and Missionaries, whose work can continue. It still may from the fallout, but let's pray for them, that God may heal the wounds. Call me an old softie, but a truly adult faith does not expect perfection from even respected spiritual leaders in this life.

The same World which denies the Catholic Dogma of Original Sin, of the Forgiveness of Sins, of the Divinity of Christ and of the universal and all-consuming nature of Christ's Sacrifice on the Cross will use the scandal as ammunition against the Church. Yet, the Church continues to proclaim the forgiveness of sins and that God is Truth and Love. While scandal is always an embarrassment for the Church, which wounds Her, we who are Catholic are well aware of our own failings, our own weaknesses and the times when we ourselves damage the Body of Christ through sin. Therefore we never condemn and should leap to the defence of those who through human weakness succumbed to temptation, leaving themselves open to public condemnation, whether they are still alive or have died.

Real love, Christian love, does not distance itself from people when we discover something about them which we find scandalous or disappointing. If this were true, I'd have no friends at all! Nor does a Priest's falling out of human weakness blacken his character as a missionary of Christ, because, as is evident, the work of the Legion of Christ continues to spread faith and works of mercy wherever it appears.

This week, Pope Benedict XVI greeted 49 newly ordained priests of the Legionaries of Christ, encouraging them to let the love of Christ invigorate their ministry. He said this after praying the Angelus with the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square. The priests were ordained Saturday by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. More than 3,000 people participated in the ceremony.

If you want to read a more salacious and uncharitable blog post on the scandal, read Damian Thompson. Personally, I can't help feeling Damian's renowned predatory journalistic instincts sometimes get in the way of his sense of Christian charity! Remember, Brother, love covers a multitude of sins!