The Long Lent (of 2002)

I read George Weigel's Courage to be Catholic yesterday, written to help Catholics cope with the sexual abuse crisis in 2002. 

It was good review after the Legion of Christ news.

I was struck especially by a line in the afterword section of the paperback edition:

If Catholics retreat into the parishes, renewal movements, or retreat centers that they know and trust, effectively cutting themselves off from the life of the diocese or universal Church, the cause of authentic Catholic reform is likely to be further impeded.

I realize there is a lot to be said for community support; I'm not denying that. But the temptation to use your clique as an excuse to avoid "crappy Catholics" is a real one.

Fr. Barron, in this videoclip, says that he tells his seminarians [at Mundelein] that they need to have a love for the sinner, while at the same time have no desire for the sin.   I think that could apply to all of us.