Of all the crimes a person can commit, harming a child somehow always winds up at the top of the list of most despised. Even in prisons, pedophiles usually have to be kept in a separate part of the prison for safety so that the other inmates don't harm or kill them.
I'm reminded of the movie "A Few Good Men." If you don't know the story line, two marines are accused of murder, but claim they were acting under orders. As it turns out - (sorry to spoil it if you've never seen it, but it's been out for 20 years) they were following an illegal order from their commanding officer. At the end of the movie, the two marines are exonerated of the murder charges, but are still dishonorably discharged for "conduct unbecoming a United States Marine."
The first marine demands from the other, "What did we do wrong? We did nothing wrong!" The other marine responds with, "Yeah we did. We were supposed to protect people who couldn't protect themselves. We were supposed to fight for Willy."
They did their job and legally were "not guilty" of any wrong-doing in the death of their fellow marine. But the standard of conduct for a United States Marine goes beyond what is just legally allowable.
Thus, it is with much shock and horror that we have watched unfold the scandal of a former assistant coach at Penn State accused and indicted on 40 counts of sex crimes against young boys.
As if this in and of itself were not bad enough - it appears several of the coaches and administrators knew about the abuse...and did nothing. While I personally believe others should be fired in addition to Paterno and President Spanier, I simply want to focus on why Joe Paterno - a beloved and respected coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions for 61 years - was summarily fired once Sandusky was arrested and indicted by the Grand Jury. After all, according to the Grand Jury report, Paterno is not being charged with perjury like other administrators and he followed "protocol" by reporting the incident of molestation that had been reported to him by Mike McQueary to his the Athletic Director, Tim Curley.
So why would he be fired for doing what was required legally? Why was JoePa fired for simply following basic protocol?
I'm reminded of the movie "A Few Good Men." If you don't know the story line, two marines are accused of murder, but claim they were acting under orders. As it turns out - (sorry to spoil it if you've never seen it, but it's been out for 20 years) they were following an illegal order from their commanding officer. At the end of the movie, the two marines are exonerated of the murder charges, but are still dishonorably discharged for "conduct unbecoming a United States Marine."
The first marine demands from the other, "What did we do wrong? We did nothing wrong!" The other marine responds with, "Yeah we did. We were supposed to protect people who couldn't protect themselves. We were supposed to fight for Willy."
They did their job and legally were "not guilty" of any wrong-doing in the death of their fellow marine. But the standard of conduct for a United States Marine goes beyond what is just legally allowable.
Paterno was fired for similar reasons. Paterno was hired to be a leader. A role model. A mentor to young men. Someone who helped shape and mold young men not only into stellar football players, but into adults who would go out into the world having learned the life-lessons their beloved coach had taught them.
In this case what he taught them was - do the minimal amount required.
Is that what he was hired to teach his players? Is that the effort he tells his players they should put into their practices and into their games? Leaders lead not only by what they say, but by what they do. They lead by example.
Is that what he was hired to teach his players? Is that the effort he tells his players they should put into their practices and into their games? Leaders lead not only by what they say, but by what they do. They lead by example.
As a leader and mentor to athletes at the University of Penn State he had an obligation to uphold the integrity of his office and not just report the incident to his superiors, then stick his head in the sand and forget about it. He had an obligation to follow through and investigate the reports. He had a duty upon learning of the incident to do whatever was in his power to protect an innocent 10 year old from further possible molestations at the hands of one of his former coaches.
Did he do what he was LEGALLY obligated to do? Yes. Did he act in a manner that was representative of the leader and mentor he was hired to be? No.
And that is why he was fired. Because six men at the University of Penn State never picked up the phone and called the police, eight boys (and counting) had their lives irrevocably changed forever.
So now the question is... how do we as Christians respond to these issues? Of course, we are understandably morally outraged not only by the actions of Sandusky but by the inaction of the six men who had the power, knowledge, and ability to put a stop to it and chose not to. They either chose to pass the buck (as in the case of both McQueary and Paterno) or lied and failed in their legal obligations to report the incident to the proper authorities (Curley, Spanier, etc)
But as morally outraged as we are - is there a place somewhere in this mess for forgiveness?
The answer: if we're Christian... then, yes. I would like to believe Joe Paterno truly is repentant of his actions - or rather, inaction - and thus, should be forgiven. He shouldn't be given his job back - there are still consequences to actions - but yes, we can at some point forgive him. Forgiveness, however, does not negate accountability and holding a person accountable for their actions/inaction. God forgave David's sin of his affair with Bathsheba - but that didn't mean there weren't consequences.
And yes... this is the harder pill to swallow... should Sandusky show genuine remorse and repentance for his crimes against these boys, again... we should forgive him as well. It is part of what we are called as Christians to do, because Christ died for even the most heinous crimes we humans can commit against each other. It is the ultimate scandal of Christianity - that we are called at times to forgive what we would many times view as the "unforgivable." But Christ himself said, there was no sin that could not be forgiven, except to blaspheme the Holy Spirit.
Forgiveness, again, however, does not mean Sandusky is not held accountable for his actions and that justice is not served on behalf of the boys who were victimized.
Thus we need to first hold in our prayers the victims of these atrocious crimes. The boys who will forever be scarred by Sandusky's actions and the inaction of six other men. We pray for healing, that somehow, someday, they are able to overcome what's been done to them. That they find the love and support in their friends, family and communities that they need to heal.
Second, we need to pray for all those who were responsible for it being allowed to continue for as long as it did, that they take responsibility for their inaction. We pray that the University of Penn State is able to begin the healing process.
And third, yes... we need pray for Mr. Sandusky, that he is at some point able to take responsibility for what he has done, face the consequences of his actions, repent of his crimes, and for God to have mercy on his soul (despite the fact that many of us may be hoping that there is a little spot in hell reserved just for him).
Did he do what he was LEGALLY obligated to do? Yes. Did he act in a manner that was representative of the leader and mentor he was hired to be? No.
And that is why he was fired. Because six men at the University of Penn State never picked up the phone and called the police, eight boys (and counting) had their lives irrevocably changed forever.
So now the question is... how do we as Christians respond to these issues? Of course, we are understandably morally outraged not only by the actions of Sandusky but by the inaction of the six men who had the power, knowledge, and ability to put a stop to it and chose not to. They either chose to pass the buck (as in the case of both McQueary and Paterno) or lied and failed in their legal obligations to report the incident to the proper authorities (Curley, Spanier, etc)
But as morally outraged as we are - is there a place somewhere in this mess for forgiveness?
The answer: if we're Christian... then, yes. I would like to believe Joe Paterno truly is repentant of his actions - or rather, inaction - and thus, should be forgiven. He shouldn't be given his job back - there are still consequences to actions - but yes, we can at some point forgive him. Forgiveness, however, does not negate accountability and holding a person accountable for their actions/inaction. God forgave David's sin of his affair with Bathsheba - but that didn't mean there weren't consequences.
And yes... this is the harder pill to swallow... should Sandusky show genuine remorse and repentance for his crimes against these boys, again... we should forgive him as well. It is part of what we are called as Christians to do, because Christ died for even the most heinous crimes we humans can commit against each other. It is the ultimate scandal of Christianity - that we are called at times to forgive what we would many times view as the "unforgivable." But Christ himself said, there was no sin that could not be forgiven, except to blaspheme the Holy Spirit.
Forgiveness, again, however, does not mean Sandusky is not held accountable for his actions and that justice is not served on behalf of the boys who were victimized.
Thus we need to first hold in our prayers the victims of these atrocious crimes. The boys who will forever be scarred by Sandusky's actions and the inaction of six other men. We pray for healing, that somehow, someday, they are able to overcome what's been done to them. That they find the love and support in their friends, family and communities that they need to heal.
Second, we need to pray for all those who were responsible for it being allowed to continue for as long as it did, that they take responsibility for their inaction. We pray that the University of Penn State is able to begin the healing process.
And third, yes... we need pray for Mr. Sandusky, that he is at some point able to take responsibility for what he has done, face the consequences of his actions, repent of his crimes, and for God to have mercy on his soul (despite the fact that many of us may be hoping that there is a little spot in hell reserved just for him).
We must always remember - Christ died for the world, and that includes the worst sinners among us. As a friend of mine recently put it... "If he didn't, then we're all in a lot of trouble."
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