Police raid the headquarters of the leaders of Belgium's Catholic church, seeking evidence of cover-up of crimes of clerical sexual abuse of minors, and the pope can speak loudly and clearly.
But when a nation contemplates enacting the death penalty for gay citizens, the pope has not a word to say.
Where are Benedict's priorities? The New York Times article to which I link above says he stands in solidarity with the priests of Belgium.
But his absolute silence about the Ugandan legislation to put gay and lesbian people to death suggests that he is unable to find himself in any solidarity with a single one of his brothers and sisters who are gay and lesbian.
What do we expect of the leaders of a church that claims to follow Jesus? To speak out in defense of those who may be put to death simply because they are different, and of children violated by priests? Or to speak in defense of his brother priests?
If the latter is the answer, if the latter is what we expect from our church leaders, then the future of our church will not be bright, because our pastoral leaders are not building the church on the gospel, but on maintaining a clerical system that can and must change.
