Quiet consideration of a serious question

It is not poignant, it is not intolerable, and it is not meant to sway judgement.

It is just a question.

However, it is without a doubt one of the most important questions that a generation of parents - or future-parents - is quietly considering.

Can you introduce your children into a community that has allegations of sexual abuse against minors that dates back over decades, by members of that organisation that are placed at the highest level?

On February 26, a suppression order was lifted on the court proceedings of Cardinal George Pell.

Cardinal Pell was found guilty of sexually abusing two 13-year old choirboys at St Patrick’s Cathedral during his time as archbishop of Melbourne in December 1996.

The trial is over, for now. Cardinal Pell will appeal.

I was in quiet shock. I was raised in the Catholic education system and I value that.

There was no comment forthcoming from the church. Why were they so deathly quiet, so regimented, so without emotion? If there were a time for public appeal, wouldn’t it be now?

There is a generation that has watched the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse play out in the media.

There is a generation that has had to watch as their mates go down paths leading to drug abuse and suicide. They have had to watch others overcome abuse.

And, there is a generation that is in denial.

I’ve heard over and over again members of congregations deny the allegations against Cardinal Pell. I've heard people I admire greatly deny the entirety of the cases that have built up against the church.

While the church has taken steps to protect children in the future. 

This includes a database of priests, and the NSW and ACT parliaments have introduced mandatory reporting for all adults who know of or believe that a child is being abused. This includes members of the clergy and ministers of religion.

However, is the church big enough to survive this to claim its own redemption?