And David wept...

Remember back in the 80s when we were told that the bad old days were over because we had John Paul II? Remember when people who mentioned Good Bye Good Men  in conversation were told sometimes angrily, that it was never that bad or that the so-called lavender mafia was never that strong or that the "irregular" behavior in the seminaries was all over and done with? Has everybody forgotten when we were told in 2002, that the bishops were on it and the fake priests who used the church to practice their predation on young males were all dead or kicked out?

 I never quite believed that. Great evil is like disease. You may survive the polio but do so with a paralyzed leg for the rest of your life.  Vampires are a terrific metaphor for monstrous sin. You may get lucky and stake the master vampire but the contagion may have already spread throughout the village and has to be dealt with.

When King David sinned there were people who knew what really happened to Uriah and they said nothing. Others noted the speed in which the king married Uriah's widow and the timing of her pregnancy. David got away with it before men but God was having none of it. The fearless prophet Nathan called David out in public. David did hard penance and was forgiven but the consequences of his sin did not vanish into thin air.  His first son with Bathsheba died. His daughter Tamar fell victim to her half brother's lust. His son Amnon was killed. His son Absalom rebelled and was killed.The sword never departed from David's house.

Even  if Archbishop McCarrick  repents, confesses, and does hard penance  this malignant thing will never be over. The Church has been damaged. There are those who are delighted by this and hope that it will cause people to realize that Jesus did not found a new church in the 60s.  I think a few people will discover the wondrous beauty of the Church's traditions that have been waiting for them but I'm pretty sure that most of the broken-hearted will drift into Protestantism, Mormonism, and atheism.