Christ's Representative?

The Roman Catholic Church believes that a priest is Christ's Representative.

Would Christ's representative do pedophile acts? No.

Would Christ's representative do anything to harm the flock? No.

Would Christ's representative be acknowledged as such only from their knowledge and gender? No.

It is more than just book learning and the fact that someone has the right anatomy. It is about character. It is about how someone leads. It is about charity, humanity to all this person comes in contact with, regardless of who they are or their social status. It is about encompassing Christ, and all His loving and sacrificed sacredness, in their being. It is about the Spirit of LOVE. (Remember Paul's view of Love in 1st Corinthians? Yup. That is an excellent model for the faithful, especially priests, to follow.)

There is more to being a priest than just adhering to the teachings of the Catholic Church. It is about living the truth and being an example of Jesus to all.

Is a pedophile priest an example of Jesus? IMHO, absolutely not.

Being a priest is not about their sexual orientation. Being a priest has no room for those who abuse their role as Christ's representative.

The Roman Catholic Church has a very strong and solid foundation (Christ and His first followers, who were both men, women and children), the walls built by the faithful as guided by the Holy Spirit are unwaivering to uphold Christ's love (although our humanity shows its disposition as the walls paint flakes off needing to be repented, er repainted frequently), however it seems the establishment's roof (clergy and priests, Christ's representatives) wasn't built with the same integrity and durability. Some roof spans are very strong and have had to withstand the stress from weaker spans, and sometimes have broken due to the weakened state of the roof. The roof is being to fail to protect the faithful, the roof leaks and the elements damage the walls further (bishops allowed pedophile priests to continue serving people knowing that the priest would likely continue inappropriate activities, the diocese is weakened financially and spiritually by pedophile cases). Sometimes the roof sags, forcing its weight against the walls and creating permanent structural damage that could cause the structure to fall (i.e., bankruptcies due to the pedophile priest issues, the victims and their loved ones who have endured the pain of molestation, and those who have taken advantage of the situation, many walls have faltered).

If the US Roman Catholic Church can recover from the downfall, I pray that we will find good architects that hold to the spiritual traditions of our faith, not the societal and cultural traditions that force the collapse of the roof.