it's not all gloom and doom

It's great to see family and friends, especially catching up with those I haven't seen in a while. The gals all look great, they never change. The guys, well, the libations, cubans and couch potato athlete lifestyle catches up to you after a while.

So I had a chat with my lapsed Catholic buddy and we talked about the sex scandal in the Catholic church. Child abuse was and is a heinous crime. The coverups, the shuffling of Father X and Father Y from parish to parish was uncalled for. We both know guilty priests personally and are heartsick about it. It's always on my mind and I'll never get over the anger. My buddy asked how I could still go to Mass, even be active in the church. I told him that I had given that a lot of thought, and honestly, there were times when I wasn't so active and wanted out. No offense, but I just couldn't picture myself as a Lutheran after all these years immersed in Catholicism.

After news of the scandal broke, I recall one priest saying that the church needs us (the congregation) more than ever. (Translation: needs our money to pay off massive debt) What inspired me was one woman saying that the poor and needy still needed our help, no matter what. We were still called by God to serve. She is so right. It's not about whether you attend Mass or not, what religion (if any) you belong to - get off the couch, roll up your sleeves, be thankful for your blessings and get to work.

I told my buddy that I still believe there are good priests out there, rotten apples don't spoil the whole bunch. Our congregation (like those of other faiths and secular organizations as well) does a lot of good work with the children, poor and elderly. Warts, occasional disagreements and all, we are still a family and I'm happy to be a part of it.