Broken Trust in a Broken Clerical System

By Robert Mickens
LaCroix International
June 7, 2019

https://international.la-croix.com/news/broken-trust-in-a-broken-clerical-system/10285

"If you want to be priest, lie!"That was supposed to be a punch line in "Mass Appeal," a comedy-drama written by American Catholic playwright Bill C. Davis.First staged in 1980, it was made into a film four years later.In the screen version Jack Lemmon stars as Father Tim Farley, a popular pastor of an affluent parish in Connecticut. He's a friendly, feel-good type of priest whose homilies are carefully designed to avoid challenging or upsetting his generous parishioners.Fr. Farley drives a late-model Mercedes-Benz, loves his wine and Scotch, and spends his day-off at the racetrack. He is "considered to be one of the best priests" in the diocese.One day he's asked to mentor Mark Dolson (Zeljko Ivanek), a highly idealistic young deacon who risks being blocked from priestly ordination because he hasn't toed the line in the seminary.Mark's main offence is that he strongly defended two seminarians that were expelled for a suspected homosexual relationship.The seminary rector (Charles Durning) thus suspects Mark is also gay. So Fr. Farley, who tells little white lies all the time for "the good of his parish," counsels Mark to avoid telling the truth about his sexuality so he can become a priest, something the young man desires with all his being."If you can afford not to be a priest" – Farley warns him – "tell the truth. But if you want to be a priest, lie!"Mendacity in the clerical casteOver the past several months, and even is these last few days, those lines have returned to me over and over...