Speak up for priests of conscience

Despite preaching the Gospel of justice, Catholic hierarchy behave as though they are above the law. But recently, Bishop Finn was indicted in St. Louis for failure to report suspected child abuse and child pornography on a priest's computer. Catholics have waited too long for such justice. Yet a former U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' spokesman said that the widespread calls for Finn's removal are “terribly distasteful.”

Distasteful? No comment about the abuse itself? For too long, this double standard has thrived: never an apology for fiscal mismanagement; never a comment about why so many bishops support immoral behavior; never a call for justice.

Those Catholics who remain in the church are disgusted by leaders who don't live the Gospel. We have found hope, however, in priests who have begun to find their voices — often at great cost to themselves. Most priests live in a bubble of fear, trapped within a medieval clerical culture. And when a priest follows his conscience and speaks out, the guillotine slams down.

We have recently witnessed such tyranny in the Archdiocese of Chicago, where several priests of integrity have been thrown under the guillotine: Frs. Larry McNally, Thomas McQuaid, Michael Pfleger, Patrick Brennan and Monsignor Ken Velo. The Cardinal has trumped their freedom of conscience.

Frs. McNally, McQuaid, Pfleger, Brennan and Velo love their ministry and their flocks, and they have confidently spoken out against injustice, knowing full well that it will damage their careers. We honor priests like these.

We urge Catholics to write letters to Cardinal George asking him to learn to be a conscientious leader of this archdiocese, where all Catholics should be able to respectfully dissent in the face of injustice.

Sandra Stilling Seehausen, President

Chicagoland Voice of the Faithful

Cary