BishopAccountability.org
	Column Sparks Notes of Gratitude for 'Father Mac' By Ronnie Polaneczky Philadelphia Daily News [Philadelphia PA] October 20, 2005 IT'S BEEN A week since I wrote about Father Bob McLaughlin - or "Father Mac," as he's known at St. Basil the Great Roman Catholic Church in Chester County. And the e-mail continues to pour in from Catholics who are grateful for this brave pastor's willingness to speak from his anguished heart about the church's sex-abuse scandal. He abhorred the cover-up, bellowing that the Philadelphia Archdiocese had fired priests for having their hands in the collection basket, "yet they never fired a priest for having his hands down an altar boy's pants!" He also vowed to do whatever it took to protect the children of his parish, even if it meant - ahem - putting to use his license to carry a firearm. Such jaw-dropping bluntness was a tonic for lifelong Catholic John V., who was moved to tears by Father Mac's honesty. "For the first time in a long time I felt good about someone associated with the Catholic Church," he wrote. Father Mac "may bring me back to Sunday Mass," e-mailed Karen P., adding that she "never realized that there are priests out there feeling the same as parish members - betrayed." While Father Mac is reader Frank M.'s "new hero," e-mailer Raymond C. thinks Father Mac should head the Philadelphia Archdiocese. "This man is the one who should be in the position of cardinal, so he can bring [the church] back to holiness and truthfulness," Raymond declared. And reader Jean M. echoed others when she promised to keep Father Mac in her prayers because, she feared, "his bishop will soon try to transfer him" as punishment for being honest. After all, if the church promoted liars and pedophiles - as maintained in the grand jury's report on the Philadelphia Archdiocese's handling of its sex scandal - is it unreasonable to assume they might demote an honorable and outspoken man of God? Gee - is the pope Catholic? Having been raised in the Philadelphia Archdiocese, I logged a lot of time in church confessionals over the years, taking counsel from men of the cloth. So it feels both weird and presumptuous now to offer them some counsel of my own. But indulge me. Because what I want to say to the good priests who feel the way Father Mac does but are afraid to speak out is this: Just do it. Your people are hungry for you to declare that you're angry that the church coldly bartered the safety of its children for the protection of its financial assets. You know it's true. Your people know it's true. And they are desperate for you to say it for them, because they know their official church leaders never will. If you can find the courage to speak out as vociferously as Father Mac has, your people will not throw you to the Archdiocesan wolves. They will rally behind you. But don't take my word for it. Take the word of reader Ruth L., who wrote, "Our pastor is nice but has addressed this problem in a lukewarm fashion, without any courage, and I am so frustrated." And Stephen M., who swears that "if the church was filled with more Father Macs, it would be a much better organization, worthy of our trust and respect." And John R., who refuses to put another dime in church coffers "unless I decide to drive down to St. Basil's and hear a Father Mac sermon." Wow - honesty in the pulpit leading to more coins dropped into the collection plate? That's a sound that the church actually pays attention to. And it might make them start heeding what you - and Father Mac - have to say, too.
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