A Moral, Abject Failure When It Mattered

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In my cubicle, I have a silver medallion of Pope John Paul II—of course I do. But I place it in a specific spot—away from my rosary, away from a Virgin of Guadalupe Christmas display, away from my statue of the Santo Niño de Atocha, away from my baptism photo. I keep the medallion directly above an excerpt from the Book of Gomorrah, the landmark study by Saint Damian in which he warned Pope Leo IX of the sex-abuse scandal inthe11thCentury.

One passage sticks out in particular:



ForTruthsays,"Whoeverscandalizesoneoftheselittleones,itwerebetterforhimtohaveagreatmillstonehungaroundhisneckandtobedrownedinthedepthsofthesea."UnlessthestrengthoftheApostolicSeeintervenesassoonaspossible,thereisnotdoubtbutthatthisunbridledwickedness,eventhoughitshouldwishtoberestrained,willbeunabletostoponitsheadlongcourse.



And on this note, Pope John Paul II meets Christ.



GARELLANO@OCWEEKLY.COM