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LA county cardinal acknowledges past to move forward

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 With growth and maturity, it is certain that there will be more responsibilities to take on, more paperwork to be filled out and, thus, more things to worry about. It also goes hand in hand with the realization of one universal truth — nothing is perfect.

As the recent burning down of one of Ohio’s famous landmarks, “Touchdown Jesus,” demonstrates, not even the church can escape from the inevitability of imperfection.
 
Although it is the nature of things to have flaws, acknowledging them is what opens up room for improvemnt. For example, as it is unfortunate that the 62-foot statue of Jesus fell victim to nature by burning down after being struck by lightening, look at it this way — it saved the life and home of the woman living next door to the church where the statue stood.
 
The church, however, is held to higher a standard by society. So, if and when its flaws are noticed, there is more attention and criticism. For instance, if a public school student and a private school student both cheated on a test, people would think less of the private school student — even if the two were completely similar.
 
On a greater level, take the child abuse scandal that the Catholic Church faces today, specifically defrocked priest Michael Baker.
 
In 1986, Baker admitted to Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony that he molested two young boys from 1978 to 1985. He was then sent to therapy to be treated for his sexual abuse problems. Afterwards, he continued as a priest and worked in nine parishes with a restriction barring him from one-on-one contact with minors. In 2000, he was removed from the priesthood and is now in prison serving a 10-year sentence.
 
This week, Mahony’s deposition, which he gave in February, regarding why he did not act 24 years ago, was released.
 
Mahony explained that the abuse happened outside of the parish, the victims had disappeared and he genuinely believed that they would be able to monitor Baker. He also went on to apologize once again to the victims, as well as the community.
 
Many were quick to criticize Mahony’s actions- or lack thereof- and question the teachings of the Catholic Church, all while fearing returning to church because of the priests. However, the actions of certain priests do not define every single one.
 
It would be wrong to judge the entire religion by the wrongdoings of a few of its priests. It would be like rejecting the entire Cal State Long Beach system just because a few of its professors were terrible at their jobs and failed students.
 
One idea that the Catholic Church emphasizes is forgiveness — not only receiving forgiveness from God, but also being able to forgive each other.
 
Through this, it becomes obvious that keeping an open mind while being constantly tested allows for self-improvement, as well as embracing the power within.
 
Despite everything that happened in a person’s past, they need to find some way to accept it and move forward. It’s important to do so in order to continue learning. It is something that everyone needs to do to be able to live, regardless of mistakes.
 
As Mahony put it, “The past has informed the present.”
 
Kirsti Correa is a sophomore journalism major and an assistant opinions editor for the Summer 49er.

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