Nobody’s Perfect!

 One the inspirational thoughts roaming around Facebook will read like this:

Nobody’s Perfect!

NOAH got drunk.
ABRAHAM was too old.
ISAAC was a daydreamer.
JACOB lied.
JOSEPH was abused.
MOSES was a murderer and couldn't talk.
RAHAB was a prostitute.
JEREMIAH was too young.
JONAH ran from God.
NAOMI was a widow.
JOB went bankrupt.
The SAMARITAN WOMAN was divorced

PETER denied Christ.
and LAZARUS was dead!

So, No more excuse!

We are called to perfection - perfection of our Heavenly Father. But we will never be perfect for we are humans and limited in time and space. So too Church. But we don’t have excuse not to try for it and get near to it. That’s why we don’t have excuse not to take care of the victims of abuse whose lives are damaged by human weaknesses. Also we don’t have excuse, not to stand for gospel values but to speak for all good things we value in our lives: children, marriage, refugees and much more. This is because we are called to be healers - wounded healers - the true shepherds who don’t scatter, but gather. We are called to do it with humility and compassion in this year of grace. 

* To be published at the Corpus Christi parish bulletin for the weekend - July 14-15

Child Protection Sunday - Sept 11, 2011

"Child Protection Sunday is about safeguarding children and young people from abuse. This calls for the involvement of each person in the Church and in the broader Australian community" puts National Committee for Professional Standards (NCPS) - a committee of the Australian Catholic Bishops and the leaders of Religious Institutes in Australia, declaring September 11th, Sunday as the Child Protection Sunday. It further encourages that "as a Church, we must continue to put in place policies and procedures to promote the safety of children and young people, respond with openness and compassion to victims of abuse and to educate people so they can identify the signs and effects of abuse."

The theme of Child Protection Sunday for NCPS is "Safeguarding Children and Young People". National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN) also calls this Sunday, Child Protection Sunday with an emphasis to “Play Your Part” (more info at: www.playyourpart.org.au). These two themes give us a real sense of the important role, each and every one of us has to play in protecting children and young people.

Church is to be the light of the world. So, it is fare that its dark places be exposed and illuminated first. We do have a responsibility to keep vigil to keep it clean all the time and be made an example to the world, so that it becomes a world leader in child and youth friendly policies. We do also share a responsibility to take child friendly policies to our families, work places and other areas of human interaction. 

Child Friendly Church - I'm hopeful!

The other day, when we priests gathered, we were commenting: Catholic church is becoming a world leader in one more area - dealing with child sex abuse issues.

It's not a very impressive title, I admit. But it is a good thing. With humility, we can say that no other organization/association in the world might not have done so much to address this issue NOW. (Yes, we had our faults in addressing it at the "very first place". But better late than never.)

And personally I think, it does make sense that cleansing in this area starts from Church-not necessarily because this problem is only within Church or Church is THE highest offender (there's no data to suggest that), but because Church should be the "light of the world" and its dark elements have to be illuminated first.

And also I believe that the public (as well as Catholic faithful) will see through this smoke created around the Church over this issue (many a time by vested interests), by seeing the efforts Church is taking to address this issue and the other good things Church continue to do in the world and bring their children (and youngsters) back to Church. I can see a lot of evidence for that and I am hopeful :)

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This is posted as a response to Facebook post by Suraj AB