I am an Independent Charismatic Protestant (aka, Pentecostal), have been most of my life. Please get this in your mind before you send me a nasty-gram that I am defending the Catholic Church.
Although I find some of the doctrines of the Catholic Church strange and unable to be supported by scripture, I do not bash the church overall. Lots of good has and continues to come from it and I cannot take from that. Like any organization man has created it has flaws. I believe the church (Catholic and Protestant) are God ordained but man has in both cases gotten his leaven into it. Please get this in your mind before you send me a nasty-gram that I am bashing the Catholic Church or that I am a "Catholic Church hater".
I have been called by God as a watchman - I function in that role and in that role I am like the umpire at a baseball game. I try to see each pitch and play OBJECTIVELY and FAIRLY call them. And like the umpire, by the end of the game both sides hate me if I have done my job well. Check out the book of Habakkuk - it's short enough to see the message. He was called by God as a watchman.
Within the church (Protestant, Catholic, etc.) there are several tendencies when things go wrong. We have seen them in the scandals involving groups as diverse as the Catholic Church, Ted Haggard, The Mormon Church and some local bodies I could cite but they would not be meaningful to anyone here. These tendencies are present in lodges, business and government as well. When someone messes up there is the desire to "keep it inside", "don't let someone blow it out of proportion", "do damage control" if it gets outside, then if it blows up, try to spin it as "not so bad", "everyone does it", or worse misuse scripture to say, "we are to forgive".
Yes we are to forgive but forgiveness does not mean that we give a pass to those who err to CONTINUE their deeds or escape valid punishment for their past either in the church or in the legal system.
When e forgive e need to make sure we are not enabling the person to continue the sin. Keeping it inside is hiding sin which is not biblical. Doing damage control or spinning the story is really lying. It is like calling cold, dead, raw fish sushi. It is still cold, dead, raw fish. The thought that everyone does it has two flaws. First, not everyone does it. Second, even if they did, is it right? The latter is God's yardstick, not mine. So none of these matter.
If the church prevents the legal system from doing it's job, the church is culpable and has erred just the same as has the errant one. Jesus said "Render to Caesar." The Apostle Paul in Romans said:
Romans 13:3-7 KJVA
For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
It is easy here to see that the intent was not to give only lip service to obeying the civil law, it is done "for conscience sake." It is a moral imperative, not a "stay out of jail card." And again in Titus he proclaims:
Titus 3:1-2 KJVA
Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,
To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.
If the church has knowledge of a crime outside the confessional (and I will deal with that exception later) it is in the United States duty bound in most cases to report it. Even in the confessional there are times that conscience as well as the law dictates revealing. The confessional should be a place to set things right, not a place to avoid the penalty. I personally believe that to use the confessional to avoid penalty is not a valid confession.
