What if you had been away from the Catholic church and not practiced your faith in 10 years...
And you decided to go back to church; to practice the faith; to go to mass; to receive the sacraments; to participate with the community...
And you went to your neighborhood parish church early one morning to get a fresh start, a new beginning...
And you went to confession. And the priest hearing confession that morning happened to be someone you and your family knew somewhat well from years earlier...
And toward the end of confession the priest said to you, "Take my hand and I will give you absolution." And you felt uncomfortable about it, but you did take his hand, and he did give you absolution...
And what if one week later you got a call from this same priest offering you a job to work for the parish...
And you took the job thankful to God for welcoming you back into the fold...
And what if you went to confession some time later to this same priest. And again he said to you, "Take my hand and I will give you absolution." And again you felt uncomfortable about it, but you did take his hand, and he did give you absolution. And the priest added, "Your sins are very serious. I think it would be wise to come to my office so we could talk."...
And what if you went to his office. And you talked. And he said, "Your sins are very serious. I think it would be wise to come to my office often, and we will say the rosary and pray for Mary's intervention and God's healing."...
And you went to his office. And you prayed the rosary together. And you went to confession. And again he said, "Take my hand and I will give you absolution." And you did...
And what if a visit or so later the priest said to you, "You know, we priests don't get much affection. Would you mind if you and I shared a little affection at the end of this meeting?" And you were stunned. And you didn't know what to think. And you didn't know what to say. And you didn't want to offend the priest. So you shrugged your shoulders and said timidly, "I guess so."...
And what if at the end of that meeting the priest stood up, and you stood up, and he approached you, and he embraced you, and he gave you a bear hug, and he began to kiss you on the forehead, and then on the cheek, and you were stunned, and horrified, and embarrassed, and didn't dare lift your face for fear of what may happen next...
And what if you pushed yourself away and said you had to go now. And you left his office. And you never returned to his office again...
And you tried to avoid that priest as best you could, but you couldn't too well because you would see him often each week for mass...
And what if that priest was transferred to out of state...
And what if it came to your attention that this same priest had tried something very similar to this inappropriate behavior 25 years earlier...
And what if you quit your job working for the church? And you stopped going to church? And you stopped practicing the faith? And you stopped going to mass? And you stopped receiving the sacraments? And you stopped participating in the community? ... for these and many other reasons.
(Please read post WHAT IF A PRIEST?-2 for some conclusions drawn from this experience.)
FJS