Why would newspapers carry on a vendetta on one of the most important
institutions that we have today in the United States, namely the
Catholic Church?

Do you know - the Catholic Church educates 2.6 million students
everyday at the cost to that Church of 10 billion dollars, and a
savings on the other hand to the American taxpayer of 18 billion
dollars. The graduates go on to graduate studies at the rate of 92%.

The Church has 230 colleges and universities in the U.S. with an
enrollment of 700,000 students.

The Catholic Church has a non-profit hospital system of 637 hospitals,
which account for hospital treatment of 1 out of every 5 people - not
just Catholics - in the United States today

But the press is vindictive and trying to totally denigrate in every
way the Catholic Church in this country. They have blamed the disease
of pedophilia on the Catholic Church, which is as irresponsible as
blaming adultery on the institution of marriage.

Let me give you some figures that Catholics should know and remember.
For example, 12% of the 300 Protestant clergy surveyed admitted to
sexual intercourse with a parishioner; 38% acknowledged other
inappropriate sexual contact in a study by the United Methodist
Church, 41.8% of clergy women reported unwanted sexual behavior; 17%
of laywomen have been sexually harassed. Meanwhile, 1.7% of the
Catholic clergy has been found guilty of pedophilia. 10% of the
Protestant ministers have been found guilty of pedophilia. This is not
a Catholic Problem.

A study of American priests showed that most are happy in the
priesthood and find it even better than they had expected, and that
most, if given the choice, would choose to be priests again in face of
all this obnoxious PR the church has been receiving.

The Catholic Church is bleeding from self-inflicted wounds. The agony
that Catholics have felt and suffered is not necessarily the fault of
the Church. You have been hurt by a small number of wayward priests
that have probably been totally weeded out by now.

Walk with your shoulders high and you head higher. Be a proud member
of the most important non-governmental agency in the United States.
Then remember what Jeremiah said: ‘Stand by the roads, and look and
ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is and walk in it, and
find rest for your souls’. Be proud to speak up for your faith with
pride and reverence and learn what your Church does for all other
religions. Be proud that you’re a Catholic.

December 29, 2009

Dear Dave,

I received the memo you sent to Catholics Come Home and I thank you for taking the time to express the difficulties you have had with the Church. You are absolutely correct that the Church is full of sinners and that there have been times, especially with the sex abuse scandal, where some of our leaders have let us down. Although the Church has been guilty of sin, you and I both know there is no other institution in the world that has admitted its sin so completely and sought to rectify it so fully as the Catholic Church. That’s not a defense, that is just fact. For whatever harm you have had to experience from the Catholic Church, I am sincerely sorry, but I will leave you with one thing to think about. No matter how imperfect or poorly taught, all the ideas of God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son, as well as religious experience, have been taught to you through the Church, imperfect as it is. You mention that you are a sinner and are born as such. You have experienced God’s grace and forgiveness and know that He has redeemed you and accepted you with His love and forgiveness. My prayer is that you extend the Church the same forgiveness that God has given you. Flawed as the Catholic Church is, it is still the last best hope for humanity. Without it, the world would be so much less. So many advances in science, art, and human reasoning, as well as care for the poor, the lost and forgotten, have been made by the Church. The world would be a darker place without its presence. Please know that the door is always open.

With every best wish, I remain

Sincerely yours in Christ,
Reverend Monsignor Eric R. Barr, S.T.L.
Episcopal Vicar for Clergy and Religious
Diocese of Rockford, Illinois