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Christ is in our midst!!
Having thought about this situation and re-evaluating my own contribution, I have reflected on a saying in the Desert Fathers. The remark is that we should not be surprised at the downfall of a brother in the Faith, but we should be surprised when one is able to escape the jaws of the Enemy. My prayers go out to His Grace, Abp Michel Abrass. He is, like each of us a man who was tempted and has fallen. I pray for his immortal soul because of the damage he did to his flock, the woman he was involved with, and himself.
My knee jerk reaction to immediately go to the example of the Eastern Churches not in communion with Rome and him was off the mark, not knowing he was, himself, a monastic. Vows and a habit do not shield one from either temptation or a fall; nor does ordination or episcopal status.
We need to pray for our clergy and each other. Like other clergy scandals, the only one who wins is the secular world that mocks us and the Enemy.
Each of us has some weakness he/she must wrestle with. It's well to remember a line from the movie, Dr. Zhivago, where the young woman finishes her confession and the priest tells her that "the flesh is strong, not weak." We are in a constant struggle until our last breath in taming it.
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