Once again, young boys were victimized by someone they knew
and trusted, and once again the perpetrator was the Goliath of a huge and
intimidating organization. While the Church had a twisted pattern of simply
transferring the guilty person to a new venue, Jerry Sandusky was left to pursue
his prey until someone finally took action and the criminal activity was
stopped. When some of the victims in the church scandal began to speak...many
weren't believed, and many others never saw their perpetrators
punished, as the evil moved to fresh hunting grounds.
When Cardinal Law in Boston had exhausted his options after
years and years of inaction involving priests in his jurisdiction, he was sent
to a new cushy assignment in Rome. At least everyone involved at Penn State is
likely to suffer the consequences of his or her inaction. The similarities to
the Catholic Church stop there.
I understand the fines...which are probably about what a
year of football revenues amount to, and I understand the depth of the
investigation and fair trial of anyone who was complicit, but ending the careers
of many of the team members seems like punishing the congregation in the pews
for what their priest did to the kids. The attempt to change history by erasing
past victories seems a little like annulling any marriages or other sacraments
performed while Father X was running the parish. Shaming the football team for
what the coaches did or didn't do would be like making the Rosary Society and
the Knights of Columbus wear scarlet letters to Mass.
Punish the culprits...take the pound of flesh, but remember
not to give the whole class detention because little Joey didn't finish his
seatwork. The good parishioners and priests who were also tainted by scandals
all over the world will suffer enough for sins they didn't commit, and Penn
State students and alumni have already had their college experience tarnished.
There doesn't seem to be much mercy being dolled out for the innocent bystanders
at State College this week.
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