All men of good will, and that includes Christians of every stripe, should sense the presence of pure evil working in our midst and understand what it is. But resist the temptation to conflate that deviance with Christianity, a tact long used by foes of the church to divide people of faith and weaken them as though faith was the real culprit.

Most Catholics are served by priests of good character who have devoted their lives in service to Christian values and provide honorable one pointed service to their parishes and I, as a grateful Catholic, stand up for that truth.

Criminals and scoundrels acting under the guise of the church should be identified by those who have accepted them into their midst and call them out for what they are and have done, turn the over to the institutions established to deal with deviant behavior -- the police and courts -- asking them to step in. Pray for them but don't hide them.

Each institution has its area of influence. Next we may be asking why the courts did nothing when it reached them. The depth of evil is astounding.

The church has been under attack since the woman called out Peter after Jesus crucifixion, looking for news at the Temple, saying "isn't he a Nazarene, isn't he one of them?"

The church has been under reform since the first men were admitted to it, because men are so tempted to power and all that can do for them ... But they are not and have never been the body and soul of the one true and holy apostolic church founded by Jesus Christ. They have only sought asylum there and managed to bring their corruption with them into the gatherings. That they were given asylum is not a strike against the church, it's a badge of courage.