The Washington Post today carries a deeply human depiction of seminarians on the brink of ordination as the sex abuse scandal goes global.
Central to the story is Msgr. Steven Rohlfs, the seminary's rector, who had overseen this class for the past six years. Rohlfs is excited for the 24 young men approaching ordination; he also fears for them.
According to the story by William Wan, Rohlfs "had often told them about the job he'd held before becoming the seminary's rector -- the one that sent him to bed many nights a broken man. For seven years, he had investigated priests accused of sex abuse" in the Diocese of Peoria, Ill., before coming to Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmetsburg, Md. The piece includes frank interviews with seminarians about sacrifices involved in leaving careers and other ambitions and about dealing with celibacy.
