this is a pretty opinionated article. but it brings up some good points. it parallels loyalty issues many Americans had in a time of crisis: post 9/11 with a president whose war they did not support. it does not make you a bad American if you didn’t support the war in Iraq in 2003 (or later), if anything it’s more pat…riotic of you to take it upon yourself to be informed about the facts of what happened and stand up for your concerns about your country.

the same goes for Catholicism today. Everyone was appalled and disgusted to hear about many Catholic priests’ abuse of literally thousands of children in various countries, and even more shocked to find that the top tiers of the Vatican hierarchy “failed to convince us of their grief.” The problem is not necessarily how the Pope or other Cardinals handled the consequences for the abusive priests, but in that many Catholics found it inappropriate to speak out for their concerns about the sheer number of priests who committed such heinous crimes. these concerns need to be heard and addressed, and it’s a shame that we as Catholics are so afraid of sounding like we’re speaking against our church that horrible crimes like these are swept under the rug and left unwarranted.