Every day it seems there is a new report of alleged sexual abuse of children by a Catholic priest.
Judging by the media coverage of the sexual abuse crisis, it would be easy to conclude that the Catholic Church is a corrupt institution teeming with pedophile priests.
I know that the truth is quite the opposite.
Those priests who have sexually abused children are but a small minority who have betrayed the church and its teachings by their actions. The overwhelming majority of Catholic priests are good-hearted individuals who have dedicated their lives to ministering to the Catholic faithful.
They have sacrificed a great deal in becoming priests.
And they deserve our respect and support.
I write this not because I am a devout Catholic.
I write because I am a devout Muslim.
I know all too well how it feels to be branded by the sins of so few coreligionists.
Just because a bunch of foreign thugs who called themselves “Muslim” smashed three planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, all Muslims are seen as terrorists.
Just because the media repeatedly broadcast the sickening footage of some Palestinians celebrating the attacks, while neglecting to cover the Palestinian children who lighted candles in sympathy for the victims, Americans conclude that the world’s 1.2 billion Muslims “hate America.”
I know the pain that many Catholics must feel to see the image of their faith tarred by the sins of so few.
Thank God the truth of the world is not always as the media report.
The Catholic Church is not a corrupt institution teeming with pedophile priests.
All Muslims are not terrorists who hate America.
I urge my fellow Americans against judging the whole by the sins of the few.
