St. Louis, Mo., Apr 25, 2010 / 06:01 am
The misdeeds of a few priests who have committed “atrocities” should not overshadow the “great deeds” done by priests and religious of the Catholic Church, two leading African American ministers from St. Louis have said.
Writing in the St. Louis American were Pentecostal Bishop Alphonso Scott of the Lively Stone Church of God and Bishop Jesse Battle of the House of Deliverance Church. They are respectively president and vice-president of the Ecumenical Leadership Council, which represents hundreds of predominantly African American churches in Missouri.
Noting the headlines about sexual misconduct and abuse by Catholic priests, they said those truly convicted of “such atrocities” should at minimum no longer serve in any clerical capacity.
“However, while emotions are rightfully vested in anger, the membership of the Ecumenical Leadership Council would ask the public to remember that the Catholic Church has been a leader in relieving pain and suffering in the world, and in St. Louis,” they continued.