Hi, I'm Jim Denison with Denison Forum, and this is the Daily Article for Tuesday, September 4th, 2018.

Father Edmundo Paredes disappeared from Dallas six months ago. The Roman Catholic priest stands accused of

financial theft and sexual abuse. Earlier this summer, his diocese reached a financial settlement with three males

who accused

him of molesting them when they were teenagers.

Paredes was suspended in June of 2017.

Earlier this year, church officials lost touch with him.

They sent certified letters to him and went to his house, but could not find him.

One church member said of the now missing priest, let's say he avoids man's law.

He can't avoid gods. Father Paredes is just one example of the sexual abuse scandal

enveloping the Roman Catholic Church. This morning's Washington Post carries a headline

asking of Pope Francis as facing a, quote, watershed moment for his handling of the crisis.

Princeton legal scholar Robert George, who is Catholic, asked recently in the Wall Street Journal,

is it time for Pope Francis to resign? The journal reports that U.S. bishops are deeply divided

over the Pope's handling of the crisis. Whatever our view of the Pope's response, we would all agree that abusing even one child

is an unspeakable sin that deeply grieves the one who loves and welcomes children,

Matthew 19, 13 to 15, and denounces all who harmed them, Matthew 18, 5, and 6.

There's another issue at work here as well. To the degree that Catholic officials

protected the institution of the church, rather than those it is called to serve, they committed

the sin of idolatry. Tragically, they're not the first to commit this sin, nor is this sin limited

to Catholic officials. In Jeremiah 52 we read,

In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month,

...