Events in the Church have you frustrated? Well get a hold of yourself! Perhaps you have forgotten whose church this is. If I'm doing it as a priest, then you can do it too. The front page of the paper doesn't tell me how to feel about my faith. What keeps me going is my faith in Jesus Christ, and my care for all of you. I am also comforted by a belief that the pope and our local bishop, are not a part of the problem, but a part of the solution. We don't hear our bishop's words much because he is not important enough to make the statewide papers - several smaller papers cover our diocese. Here is a reprint of a press conference Bishop Mengeling held on April 24th (edited for space).

Lansing bishop says sexually abusive priest must be removed.
(By David Poulson)

Lansing - Revelations of sexual abuse that have rocked the U.S. Catholic Church represent a painful failure by church leaders but should lead to a "purification" and strengthening of the institution, according to one of Michigan's top Catholic officials.

"The pus has to come out before you can get a cure, and that's a painful business, "Bishop Carl Mengeling said Wednesday. "It's good to get kicked in the pants once in a while." Mengeling, leader of more than 224,000 Catholics in the 10-county Diocese of Lansing, was blunt in his assessment of the church's failure. Yet he said that the U.S. Cardinals who met with Pope John Paul II in Vatican City to discuss the scandal are evidence that the 2000-year-old institution is addressing the crisis head-on.

He called a press conference to comment on the meeting with the pope, and to assure Catholics in the diocese that the abuse of children by priests in not tolerated. The diocese in 2000 established a sexual abuse policy that requires allegations to be forwarded to police, and the resignation of priests if allegations are substantiated. In recent weeks, the diocese has forwarded to civil authorities new allegations of abuse occurring decades ago by 3 priests, Mengeling said. None has been substantiated. "Some allegations are anonymous letters," he said. Some do not involved criminal sexual acts, but are better described as propositioning, he said. Two involve priests who continue to work in parishes. "One had been removed some years ago for those allegations that have surfaced again," Mengeling said.

"We can't just abandon them (priests) and drop them off a cliff," Mengeling said. "Hopefully they can experience conversion and get back on their feet. But they cannot be a priest."

The bishop said he feared a spate of false allegations fueled by the publicity, and he praised the diocese's 140 priests. He was meeting today with the diocese's vicars to plan a series of meetings to help Catholics deal with their "sense of loss and sense of hurt." The scandal has brought "a deeper sense of the horrendous reality of child abuse," one that may spur a nationwide effort to prevent it," he said.

A bill pending in the Michigan Legislature requiring members of the clergy to report suspicions or allegations of child abuse is, "a blessing for the state." Mengeling said. And he praised the media for bringing public attention to the issue. "We should have had this come to our attention from within," Mengeling said. "You forced us to pay attention. That's all right, the Lord works that way."

©Booth Newspapers.

Certainly these are days that try one's spirits, but our foundation is Jesus Christ who promised to always be with the people he loves. It is the spirit of evil that seeks to destroy our faith. That's also the nature of sin. It is the Spirit of Jesus Christ that is our rock of faith. That's also the nature of God's grace. In its humanity even the Church and its members undergo trial. Don't worry, the Church and its leaders will catch on to God's grace and we will be stronger for it.