Bless Me Father

Bless me Father, but it's you who has sinned.

Remember that bit in the New Testament about the house of prayer becoming a den of thieves? Pity that you weren't more aware of Christ's teachings when Senator Barack Obama saw to it that St. Sabina's got a government hand-out. You donated to his campaign and the State of Illinois returned the favor with interest. Not Christ-like, but remarkably in keeping with the Chicago way of doing deals.

Maybe you dozed off at the seminary when the lecture covered the wedding feast at Cana. Maybe you've heard of it? It shows how much Jesus respected his mother, who told him to solve the wine shortage and he didn't argue with her. Pity that you missed it. You wouldn't have been so quick to show utter disrespect for a woman by mocking her for shedding a tear.

You may have a solid grasp of the Ten Commandments, but the Seven Deadly Sins seem to have slipped from your mind. Pride, to be sure, has been your downfall and has damaged the reputation of the Catholic Church in Chicago. And whatever they told you about obedience to your superiors has gone in one ear and out the other.

You're special, of course, and that's why you didn't insist on following the rules and move out of St. Sabina's after your twelve years were up. When Cardinal George told you to shut the fuck up, you had a mental lapse and completely forgot.

Ah sure you're sorry, but Catholics have had their fill of apologetic clergymen and their empty words. Can someone point you in the direction of the confessional?