On the Feast of St. Therese, the Little Flower, a much loved saint and Doctor of the Church, in a year that has been surreal so far, the Diocese of Rockville Centre, Long Island, NY filed for bankruptcy. It's a sad day for Long Island Catholics. The Diocese apparently didn't have a choice, given they were facing over 200 lawsuits related to sexual abuse allegations. Seeking financial protection, the Diocese had few options.
Rockville Centre is the largest diocese in the U.S.A. to declare bankruptcy. A video presentation prepared by the Bishop, Bishop John Barres, which I watched, stated, "the diocese was not going to be able to carry out its spiritual, charitable and educational missions because of the increasing burden of litigation expenses." How sad. How did it come to this? It's mind-boggling.
I feel sorry for Bishop Barres. I get the impression from watching Mass on the Catholic Faith Network, and listening to his homilies, that he cares deeply for the Church, he wants so much for there to be dramatic missionary growth on Long Island, and he's faced with this crisis. I feel sorry for the victims of sexual abuse. I feel sorry for all those who put their trust in religious leaders and are now disappointed and deeply hurt.
It's a sad day on Long Island. It's a sad year with the tragic pandemic causing havoc. Bishop Barres mentioned the pandemic as not helping the situation.
Today the Scripture reading that struck me from the gospel was, "The Kingdom of God is at hand." We need the Kingdom of God to manifest.
NJA
