Another Anti-Catholic Commercial

After watching this I was reminded of one of my favorite Pope Benedict quotes:

"A secret hope still looks to the Church, which, it is felt, ought to be a kind of island of the good life, a tiny oasis of freedom into which one can withdraw now and then. Consequently, this rage at the Church, or disappointment with her, has a particular quality, because in their heart of hearts people expect more of her than of all worldly institutions." - Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Called to Communion



We could go down the anti-Catholic road here, but I also think it is, ironically, a sign of encouragement that we are singled out, and that is what I think Pope Benedict was getting at with his quote above. Catholic priests don't abuse children at any higher rate than men throughout society, but yet we are singled out for it. To me, that is a sign that people look to the Church to be more.

In the seminary, a priest used the analogy once that the following don't mean the same thing to people
A convict abused a child
A plumber abused a child
A minister abused a child
A priest abused a child

This can suggest anti-Catholicism but it can also show that people are looking for more from the Church than they do other places.

I would also argue that the rage at the Church goes beyond the public believing that we are hypocritical because there are many other religions in the U.S. that talk about right and wrong and sin, but we certainly don't hear about the child abuse rates of rabbis or protestant ministers even though those numbers are out there.

Again, I think we should see this all as a sign that people really hold the Church in high regard and want Her to be better than all other worldly institutions, and we should be thankful that others are more disappointed with the failures of priests than they are with the failures of the average man walking down the street, the average protestant minister, or the average rabbi.