Every now and then a particular text from scripture bites me. Today in the sermon of St. Peter he says, Now I know, brothers and sisters, that you acted out of ignorance, just as your leaders did. This is, of course, an echo of the word of Jesus from the cross: Father, forgiven them for they know not what they do. This text is challenging because it makes me think, where I am acting out of ignorance? There was a priest meeting a few years ago where the Cardinal posed the question: should the archdiocese find a way to accomodate destination weddings, which seem to be all the rage? The priests were adamently opposed. No, weddings should be in church. The Cardinal asked if we wanted to be a church where many young people, after having been away from the Church for years, approach us to do their wedding and the first word they hear from us is “NO.” Are we, am I, acting out of ignorance for the real situation that people find themselves in to preserve some sense of order or propriety? Can we keep doing what we’ve always done when it obviously is not working all that well?
