Into the Furnace, by Hunter Bradford

By Hunter Bradford, Church Militant, July 1, 2021

A seminarian’s open letter

Dear brothers,

Ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick and Abp. Carlo Maria Viganò

“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 23:1,2)

I entered seminary on the coattails of the 2018 “Summer of Shame,” in which then-cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s decades-long history of sexually abusing young men and seminarians exploded onto the public scene. Then there was Abp. Carlo Maria Viganò’s bombshell document, claiming McCarrick was part of a vast network.

I had no idea what seminary would be like. For some reason I imagined guys praying all the time on campus, sporting a cassock with hands folded. I expected to be surrounded by faithful, orthodox dudes also wanting to answer the call of the Lord to be His priest. I was only partly correct. I was definitely surrounded by dudes, but not all were faithful, and without a doubt there were zero cassocks worn by any of the seminarians. …

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