Recently I spoke with a young woman who said that she tries to convince her husband to go to confession and to start going back to church. So, I asked her for the reason her husband stopped believing. And she said that he didn’t stop believing, and that he prays often and reads the bible, and he is a very good person. However, he stopped receiving the sacraments since because of the sexual scandals done by the priests. He told his wife that he won’t be telling his sins to a priest who is no better than he is. I think this is a very common argument and I personally understand it. However, I can’t understand why, because of the bad example of one or several priests someone would cut himself or herself off from God’s grace that is present in each sacrament. Yes, each priest is a sinner, but we are only an instrument in God’s hands. We are only the witnesses. We are not God, we don’t forgive sins, we don’t judge anybody. God is the one who forgives us and gives us graces and blessings. And even if a priest is the worst sinner ever, the sacrament that he performs is still a valid and a holy sacrament. Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example.”
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