Meanwhile, a Chicago Sun-Times columnist hits the nail on the head with her demand of the archdiocese to know what’s going on.
Last Sunday, when I sat at mass, I waited for an announcement, letter, something that I was sure would have to be coming from Cardinal Francis George about the current allegations of priest sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese. Nothing in my church bulletin. (I checked during the sermon that went on too long and never mentioned the situation, either.)
Instead they got a request for give money in the second collection to the seminary, and an announcement at the end of Mass that next week would begin the Annual Catholic Appeal for the archdiocese. Yes, the media reports that the cardinal wrote a letter to the laity, but who got it? How was it distributed? The whole thing is like a flashback to 2002.
The Church needs to be proactive, not reactive
The ones who remain in the pews remain not *because of* but rather *in spite of* the leadership. One could get the impression that the leadership is trying to empty the pews.
What parish does the reporter attend? I got a letter. A nice, clear, informative letter on official archdiocesan stationary.
Perhaps the failure to communicate was from the parish, not the archdiocese. And perhaps Sun-Times reporters should actually try to find out why she didn’t get it – you know, do reporter stuff before complaining.