Laity, Drop Your Stones

It has been extremely difficult and painful to confront the reality of the Church's abuse scandals. However, as with any scandal, now that it is out in the open there is a real opportunity for healing to occur.

As a layperson, my greatest concern at this point is how the laity has been addressing this issue. Those who have been most vocal seem to put all the responsibility on priests and bishops. How self-righteous we are. Perhaps it's time to address the plank in our own eye. After all we, the laity, have our own scandals to address.

Though many of the lay groups that are forming to address this issue call themselves “faithful,” the majority of the laity over the past several decades have been anything but. Indeed, I would suggest that a good place to start addressing our own scandals would be our widespread unfaithfulness to the Church's teachings. And our collective disobedience has been most prominent in — of all areas — sexual morality!

Does anyone really believe it's just a coincidence that after 30 to 40 years of thumbing our collective nose at the teaching authority of the Church in this regard, we find the Church mired in a sex scandal? Where in the world do we think these priests and bishops came from, anyway? The Church didn't raise them. We did. They came out of our families. I believe that it's well past time that we put down our rocks, get on our knees and undertake our own purification in this regard.

The time has long since passed for the laity to put aside the cafeteria-Catholicism of the last several decades and truly partake of the banquet the Church has to offer. If we do, this can truly become the “springtime of hope” the Pope envisions. The only question is: Do we have the maturity, the integrity — and the faith — to face this scandal at its core? For our sake and that of our children and of the world, I pray that we do.

JOHN RYAN Ballwin, Missouri

Deacons Aren't Laymen

Very rarely do I find myself in a position to comment on articles in your excellent paper, but on this occasion I am compelled to do so. I am referring to the article “Researcher Claims There is No Priest Shortage” (June 9-15).

I am not commenting on the contents of the article per se, but rather to Father Sullins identifying deacons as “lay deacons.” I am a candidate for the permanent diaconate and, God willing, I will be ordained in February of next year. The operative word in that last sentence is “ordained.” Canon 1009 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law, paragraph 1 says: “The orders are the episcopate, the presbyterate and the diaconate.”

I trust that Father Sullins will, someday, acknowledge that deacons are, in fact, recipients of the sacrament of holy orders. This is by no means intended to denigrate the laity but rather to point out what is, I am sure, an oversight and not a misinterpretation of the sacrament of orders.

ALFRED T. SAMORANSKI Buford, Georgia

Fan Mail

I wonder what I would do without the Register? I hope I never find out. Thanks for a wonderful Catholic periodical, and God bless you!

R. EMMET HARRIGAN Crystal Lake, Illinois

Prizer: Cheers and Jeers

I wish to thank John Prizer for his recommendation of the movie Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo with Spencer Tracy and Van Johnson (Weekly Video Picks, June 9-15). My cousin, Robert Clark Bourgeois, flew with Col. Doolittle over Tokyo on that historic mission and, last Nov. 13, three days after he attended my parents' 50th wedding anniversary, he passed away. He was the bombardier in Flight Crew #13, “Lucky 13.” His story is recounted in the recent book Twenty-Five Yards Of War by Ronald Drez. Robert's story is Chapter 1 of this great book.

But, at the same time, I wish to wholeheartedly concur with Mr. Nathan Halloran's letter about John Prizer's review of Spider-Man (“Triumphs of a Man Called Spidey,” Letters, June 9-15). Mr. Prizer's review (May 26-June 1) seemed like he was desperately in search of something to criticize about the movie and, in lieu of that, he made something up.

I've seen Spider-Man three times and I saw the new episode of Star Wars twice.

Each and every time I saw Spider-Man, the audience remained attentive throughout, yet it was not so for Star Wars: Attack of the Clones. During the Star Wars movie, people were very fidgety and getting up and going out. Not so for Spider-Man.

Mr. Halloran is absolutely correct regarding the lasting impression Spider-Man left on moviegoers such as myself. And he's certainly correct about the line “with great power comes great responsibility” having a great impact throughout the whole movie. One thing I wish the filmmakers would have done: include a cross on Uncle Ben's headstone. Maybe next time they'll make up for this little lack of courage in an otherwise very courageous movie.

JOHN CRAVEN New Orleans