Last year the Catholic Church received publicity for various allegations of nation-wide sexual misconduct by priests.
Pope John Paul II accepted the resignation of Archbishop Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, who is accused of covering-up priest sexual misconduct, of Boston on Dec. 13.
Phoenix Archbishop Thomas O’Brien resigned June 18 after being charged in a hit-and-run accident that resulted in a death.
According to USA Today, O’Brien previously had admitted to sheltering accused sexual molesters in the clergy.
Despite the scandals, Christ the King Catholic Church still fills its church for 6 p.m., 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. masses.
Rev. Than Vu, pastor of Christ the King, said people in this area know the difference between immoral people and Church doctrine.
“Yes, there were individuals who were wrong, but I don’t think [people] confuse that with the faith,” said Vu.
Vu said he does not feel he needs to do anything different to promote a positive image of the Church.
“We’re doing the same thing we’ve been doing, trying to live the Gospel,” he said.
Vu said only a few students have visited him to discuss the scandals, but he said he has not seen a real effect on the Catholic student community.
Michael Schwartzenburg, a senior in communications studies, said the scandals have not really affected him because he has not witnessed any trouble within his parish.
He said when he visited his brother in Boston he noticed the difference in parishes across the country.
“It seemed like a totally different atmosphere,” Schwartzenburg said.
He said he noticed subtle changes in the way mass is celebrated in the North versus the South, and he noticed more single people rather than families at church.
Kinesiology senior Dana Schmitt said the allegations have not affected her beliefs
“To me the Church isn’t the priests,” Schmitt said. “It’s made me a little bit more leery of the clergy but it hasn’t made me feel the Church is bad. The media has blown it out of proportion. It’s a horrible problem, and it needs to be dealt with, but it hasn’t made me feel differently.”
Vu said he felt the media did their job, but some journalists have sensationalized the events.
“The media did what was necessary to bring about some changes,” Vu said.
Vu said the incidents have given priests a bad name.
“Obviously I feel terrible about what happened,” he said. “I think it does cast doubt over priests. I’ve heard stories of priests afraid to wear their [white] collar. Some people sensationalize and make it hard for priests.”
Schwartzenburg said he is friends with men in the seminary studying to become priests. He said some of them have expressed their frustration with the situation because they think the situation has been blown out of proportion.
Schmitt and Schwartzenburg both were unsure what the Catholic Church has done to respond to the events.
Vu said the Baton Rouge diocese has printed its policies in the newspaper.
He said some dioceses have done better than others in reporting and eliminating criminal activity, and he thinks the dioceses of Baton Rouge have done very well.
Vu said the national review board is beginning to audit dioceses and the Church will know how well it is doing to expose criminal activity when the audit is finished.
Vu said he thinks people sometimes focus too much on the negative.
“Why not focus on the [Catholic sponsored] hospitals, schools and orphanages,” he said. “Why shouldn’t we be proud of [the Church]?”