None Emerge Unscathed

   One of the stories in the news lately is the growing number of Roman Catholic priests being accused of sexual abuse. Along with this are also accusations against bishops and other Catholic clergy leaders who have covered up the actions of the accused priests.
   The first major story I saw on this subject is the grand jury investigation in  Pennsylvania earlier this year. They have discovered that over 1,000 people were victimized over a period of 70 years by more than 300 priests. There are calls for all states to conduct investigations of the Catholic church in an effort to find additional abuse cases and find out how those cases are being handled.
   The Pennsylvania grand jury story has spawned numerous articles on related topics. There are articles about people who were investigated after accusing a priest of abuse. There are articles claiming that there was a large detailed coverup of the problem going all the way to the Vatican and other articles claiming there is no coverup. I found an article about a member who is only going to donate to trustworthy Catholic charities, not to her parish. There are timelines and other articles speculating on why this is happening.
   I've even seen a few ads by law offices offering their services to those who have been abused.
   The articles were interesting to me and very informative. There were many articles about survivors of abuse.
   There is one group of victims that I never considered. That is until a couple of days ago. That is the day Father Antonio (not his real name) stopped into my store. He is someone I know, once in awhile, he stops at my store. He's a pleasant, elderly man and I always enjoy talking to him. He still works as a chaplain at several area hospitals although he must be at least 70 years old or older.
   He told me that lately, he has had trouble sleeping. These stories of abuse trouble him greatly. He said he has always been proud to be a priest and to serve the Lord to the best of his ability. He is appalled at the actions of some of his fellow clergy. How could anyone harm another human being like that? I could tell that he was concerned that people might think he either abused someone or covered up for someone who did.
   I feel truly sorry for him. He's a good kind man who does his best to represent God to those around him. He has devoted his entire adult life to following his Saviour. I can also understand where he is coming from. Many years ago there were articles about pharmacist diluting medications, committing insurance fraud and being negligent. Even though I've always practiced my profession according to the law, I worried that some might think that all pharmacists were careless this way.
   It's amazing to me how much damage occurs when one person or a group of persons use their authority to harm others. The kind of ripple effects that happens touches the lives of many people, not just those who are related to the victim and abuser. It seems like everyone is touched and none emerge unscathed.