We Are Blind to Evil

A shocking aspect of the priest sex scandal is that decent, intelligent, even holy authorities have been hoodwinked by the deceit of the predators. Father John Hardon S.J., a man known for his sanctity and erudition, assured the Jesuit superiors that a serial pedophile was not a threat to innocents; Dr. Rick Fitzgibbons MD, a widely respected, solidly Catholic psychiatrist, assured the bishop that another predator was safe; even Pope John Paul the Great underestimated the depth and breath of the scandal and was deceived by the cunning Father Maciel of the Legionnaires. We are exhorted by scripture to be "wise as serpents but innocent as doves." It appears that these three icons of fidelity and innocence, and so many others, failed to be "wise as serpents" and to be adequately vigilant against evil. In the political sphere we will soon see that 50%, more or less, of Catholics in the USA will vote for a party unambiguously committed to the legalized destruction of innocent human life, the deconstruction of marriage and family, and the suppression of religious liberty in the public sphere. On the right wing, even an intelligent, wholesome, committed Catholic like Paul Ryan appears to have been seduced by the radical individualism of Ayn Rand, to be incapable of an accurate critique of the consequences of unrestrained mega-capitalism, and to lack a profound identification with the poor and marginalized. I have been puzzled by the gospel in which Jesus, after preaching in Nazareth and favorably impressing the people, provokes them, in a seemingly gratuitous manner, taunting them that it was not an Israelite that Elisha healed but Naaman the Syrian and not a Jew that Elisha fed but the widow of Zarapheth. I now realize that Jesus was not impressed by their approval, but read their hearts and consciously evoked their rage. The best of us seem to lack this sensitivity to evil. And each of us is blind to our own sin: the first words out of Adam's mouth after his sin were "She made me do it!" Fortunately, we Catholics are blessed with the sacrament of confession where we systematically and regularly exam ourselves for our own sins, begging the Holy Spirit to remove our inherent blindness, enlighten us, and move us to contrition. Lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil!