Reflecting on the sex scandal comments, I'd like to propose a different way of thinking about problems within the Church. Before we, the laity, start criticizing bishops and priests, shouldn't we ask what we have done to prepare the ground for a scandal? Have we supported good priests and bishops? Worked to make our parishes, schools, and institutions worthy of the name "Christian"? Striven to consecrate our culture to God, or at least to make sure it doesn't offend him?
I'm not suggesting that bishops who covered up serious sins and crimes should not be punished, either by civil or canon law, nor am I suggesting that blame should be shifted from the perpetrators. The Church doesn't operate franchises that provide holiness on demand, it provides houses of worship for sinners. The conditions within those houses are largely determined by those who inhabit them, and that means us, dear laymen. If our local house is out of order, perhaps the place to start the renovation is within our own souls.
