Remembering Archbishop Thomas Cajetan Kelly, O.P. 

Today is the Feast of St. Cajetan, and my thoughts turn immediately to my deceased friend and mentor Archbishop Thomas C. Kelly who took the name Cajetan when he entered the Dominican Order.

Until recently, I might have said that +TCK served as a bishop during the worst possible time—the years leading up to, and culminating in, the clergy sex abuse scandal. But now I’m relieved that he is not here with us to witness the horrors that have been revealed by the unmasking of the former cardinal, Theodore E. McCarrick, and similar abuses committed by cardinals, archbishops and bishops in various regions of the world.

Anyone who was hoping that the clergy sex abuse scandal had run its course is now sadly (and rudely) disabused of that naive hope.

What would +TCK think of all this?

I know he would be deeply distressed and sadder than words can express. I believe he would be angry that the actions of a handful of sexual predators have so tarnished the image of bishops, priests and other Church leaders that trust is extremely difficult to restore. I suspect he would be frustrated by the  corrupt processes that allowed men who never should have been given leadership roles in the Church to rise to such prominence.

And yet, he would not have lost hope. He was a sensitive, caring man who was easily hurt but who never gave up. He believed in the redemptive power of God’s grace and in the Lord’s definitive victory over sin and death. Even when evil appeared to have the upper hand, +TCK was convinced that Christ would be (and is) triumphant.

+TCK would remind us that bishops are sinful men called to be holy and lead others to sanctity—in spite of their imperfections.

+Thomas Cajetan Kelly, O.P. was such a man. In site of his imperfections, his sins, he grew in holiness and inspired others to do the same. By the grace of God, he is now at peace. I am quite sure that from his place in heaven he intercedes for all bishops—that they may be men of courage and of hope who can inspire confidence and trust in God’s faithful people.