The Sins of the Past.

This is always a challenging question. Two extremes need to be avoided. We must never try to justify the mistakes of the past by demanding that as Christians we should forgive and forget. That could, too easily, look like we are trying to avoid really facing the extent of harm that may have been done by the sins of the past. At the same time we are always aware that Jesus' message in the gospels remains absolutely true and relevant even if those who have been given the responsibility of spreading this gospel have sometimes failed miserably to live up to it by their own lives and example.

It is healthy to ensure that we never try to hide or downplay sin or weakness. There are times we have to be brave enough to "cop it sweet" and accept the responsibility and the consequences of the faults of the past. Overly defensive reactions to people raising the faults of the past ends up looking like one is not taking responsibility for these things.

As well, the church and so many individual members of it, has been a force for great good. A lot of good work is done by so many people quietly and without any fanfare. The gospel is being lived out daily in the lives of so many people. 

We must acknowledge our past faults (as Pope John Paul II did so effectively in the jubilee year, 2000, in relation to the Crusades, the Holocaust, and so many other areas, including this year asking for forgiveness for the historic tensions between Eastern and Western Churches). We must distinguish between the absolute truth and integrity of Christ's message and its all-too-human watering down by the weakness and sinfulness of people who try to live it and sometimes fail to live up to it. Finally, we must not give in to a cynicism that says it is impossible to live up to the gospel challenges. As challenging as the gospel is, with God's help it can be lived out and has been lived out by the vast majority of people. We must never let people's scepticism or negativity, even if sometimes justified by the faults of the past, prevent us from doing good work in areas that we believe are important and life giving. I am not a priest so that everyone will think of me as some kind of holy guy. I am not a priest so that people will be in awe of me, so it doesn't overly worry me if  people are ambivalent to the role of priest. I do this job because I believe the gospel has something to offer us all, and I am willing to put up with the rest because of that!

I am not put off being a priest by the litany of faults that a church of two thousand years has listed against it. I believe in the message of Christ and that is what we preach. We do not set ourselves up as perfect, and we can take heart from St. Paul who said, "if we are to boast of anything, it should be in our weakness." Not that sinfulness is anything to boast about! However it reminds us that it's not by our own merits that we achieve anything, but by God's grace and our co-operation. 




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