Caught in the eye of a religious storm

Note: First-person columns rarely appear in this space, but an exception is being made today due of the subject matter.

An open letter to my Catholic sisters and brothers:

I attended 4 o’clock mass last Sunday at St. Columba Cathedral and was not turned to stone by the Almighty, my finger did not sizzle when I dipped it in the Holy Water font, and there was no lightning and thunder when I received Holy Communion. (Atty. Lenny Schiavone did have a bemused look on his face when he held out the host.)

I guess that means I’m still a Roman Catholic in reasonably good standing — despite the opinions of many who reacted angrily to my column of Sept. 9.

The flood of letters to the editor, e-mails and telephone calls made it clear that what was published two weeks ago offended the sensibilities of many Catholics. While most of the criticism focused on my decision to include several anonymous comments posted in the discussion board in Vindy.com (The Vindicator’s web site) about the death of former Mahoning County Prosecutor James Philomena, there were some that implied that I was encouraging, or at the very least facilitating, attacks on the Church.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Fairness

I included the anonymous comments in the column so readers of The Vindicator who do not have access to Vindy.com could get a peek at what was being said about Philomena, the prosecutor-turned-criminal. In the interest of fairness, there was no screening of the Web posts. I included all those that would fit in the space allotted.

That is how the criticism of Catholicism, the Church, Catholic schools and Catholic officeholders came to be published. The publication ignited the firestorm of criticism.

Some of the letters to the editor were published last Sunday. Others that did not make it can be found in my blog, “Bertram’s Blog — Stirfry” in Vindy.com.

I have chosen to reprint an e-mail I received from the rector of St. Columba Cathedral, not only because it synthesizes the opinions of other Catholics, but because it comes from a leader of the church.

“Dear Mr. de Souza,

As a regular reader, I was very disappointed by your column this past Sunday.

As a Roman Catholic and as a journalist, you should have known better than to have printed such cowardly rubbish. I have no difficulty, as painful as it may be, with just criticism which is aimed at the Church for the many problems we have endured over the last several years. But I simply fail to understand why you would have justified the ravings of bigoted cowards by printing them in your column. Bigotry is an ugly thing. I would think that the role of the Vindicator would be to challenge bigotry rather than support it.

I look forward to reading your column in the future. I hope that you offer the same apology to those whom you have offended that you wish Mr. Philomena had offered to his constituents.

Sincerely in Christ,

Fr. John Keehner,

Rector, St. Columba Cathedral

Pastor, St. Casimir Church”

While Father Keehner certainly has a responsibility to speak out against what he views as anti-Catholic comments, his contention that I “justified the ravings of bigoted cowards” by printing them in my column is without foundation. My column was not an endorsement of the criticism of the Catholic Church, and, therefore, I do not believe an apology to those readers who were offended is necessary.

Having attended Catholic primary school, spent two years in a boarding school run by the Jesuits, served as an altar boy, visited Rome as a teenager, earned a master’s degree from Marquette University, a Jesuit institution, and returned to Rome several years ago, Catholicism has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.

The uproar over the Sept. 9 column brings to mind a conversation I had with my cousin, Terrence DaSilva, who is a doctor and a deacon in Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto, about the crisis involving pedophile priests. I wondered if the Church would weather the storm.

History

Here’s what he said: The Catholic Church has faced many crises in its history and has survived for 2000 years; it undoubtedly will face others, and will be around for another 2000 years.

As a final word, I offer this observation from a Catholic who is near and dear to my heart and is well schooled in the religion:

“If you hadn't included those comments against the Church, then wouldn’t you have been a bigot by not sharing them?”