A Devastating Week

It's been a devastating week for the Christian faith. The Catholic bishop who brokered a $13 million dollar settlement with the sexual abuse victims of the Mount Cashel orphanage in the Maritimes has allegedly been caught with kiddie porn on his laptop. A 32 year old Toronto teacher has been charged with sexually luring two teenagers that he met while working as a camp counselor at Camp Pioneer, a Christian camp in Huntsville. Not unexpectedly, many people are more suspicious than ever about anything related to the church and to Christianity.
I hope that these two men will get the help that they need, that their alleged victims will find healing and that the cause of Christ will not be harmed. I also pray that Christians everywhere, including all of us at Hope Fellowship, will take stock of our personal and private lives and make daily choices that lead us closer to the Lord, instead of farther away. This bishop and this teacher are not the only ones struggling with sin; their exposure and the devastating aftermath may be just the wake up call that many of us need with respect to our own vices, temptations and deceits.