Controversy Spawns Public Discussion/Debate in Toledo

With so many events going on in the Toledo Diocese involving matters of importance to the Cahtolic Church, many opinions are being expressed. The letters written to the Toledo Blade here serve as an example.

This is a trying time, not just for parishes in the Toledo Diocese, but in the entire Church. Discussion on this is healthy, if the matters which have brought it to the fore front are ever to be brought to closure. Silence and complacency are what have allowed us to get to this point. Retreating back into the safety and comfort of silence only returns us to a position which enables power to be misused.

Such discussion may lead to productive dialogue, but we must be wary of the temptation to allow it to divide us into camps who hurl invective at one another. With faith in God, it is natural to need to trust the clerics who lead the Church. With each passing day, we learn of more people who have had that trust violated. When trust in the Church is compromised, the ability to believe that God is working through the Church collapses. To these people, the Church has forced them to choose between what God tells them, and what the Church tells them. This naturally sets them apart from those who still trust the Church. But members of both groups can still count themselves among God's children, and God loves us all; even if we don't want to behave lovingly to one another.

To bring these two groups together, a culture of secrecy within the Church must be replaced by one of openness and transparency. Trust is not built through secrets, it is destroyed by them. It is impossible to restore trust that has been destroyed by secrets, when Church leaders insist upon the protection of secrets caused the initial breakdown. There is no credibility or authenticity to an expression of remorse or desire for reconciliation when given by an individual who does so to cover their backside.

We cannot divide, for we are all God's children. Many in Toledo who have been hurt by the Church, have valiently called for openness from Church leaders to help them restore trust. Those whose trust has never waivered, can make this same call. It does not damage the Church that you love to require that it conduct itself in a dignified way.

Fr. Nuss did an admirable thing when he chose disclosure over sandbagging. Under the current culture however, one can only question whether the kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar has only expressed remorse because they were caught. Enough has taken place for us to know that what is not disclosed by force will remain hidden.