PHILADELPHIA (PA)
The Inquirer
August 29, 2018
By Charles Noone
For the last five weeks, the Sunday gospels have focused on readings from the sixth chapter of John, which focuses on Jesus offering the bread of life and the gift of faith to his followers.
Not all of them were up to the arduous journey of faith and love to which Jesus called them. As a result, John writes, “Many of His disciples returned to their former way of life.”
Their desertion rattled the faith of the few who remained.
“Do you also want to leave?” Jesus asked them.
The question stunned Simon Peter, one of the Lord’s most beloved followers.
“Master, to whom shall we go?” he asked, bewildered. “You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God!”
Peter’s crisis was that he could not return to his former life, yet his faith had been shaken to its core.
In a very real way, this is where so many Catholics are in the wake of the Pennsylvania grand jury report of sex abuse in six of the state’s dioceses.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.