Happy Father’s Day?

Here’s a picture of my wonderful Dad, who loved children and who passed away three years ago:

Here’s a headline that would have made him spit in anger (and I don’t remember my Dad ever spitting):

DHS: Nearly 2,000 Children Separated From Adults At Border In 6 Weeks

The day after my father passed away in March 2015, the family met with Father Dave, pastor of my Mom’s church. We were there to talk about a memorial service for my Dad. While Mom is Catholic, Dad was agnostic/atheist, so there were some questions about what the memorial service could look like for someone not of the church.

Father Dave, in his abiding compassion, offered a Mass for Dad, which made Mom happy. After doing so, he asked why Dad had chosen not to join the Catholic Church, which is a fair question. Mom responded with a truth that bowled me over, from a woman who had just lost her lifelong partner only 24 hours before and wanted a Mass to celebrate his life. She said that her husband loved children and could never reconcile how the Catholic Church had allowed children to be abused within their parishes, with neither protection for children when truth came to light, nor consequence for those who perpetrated the abuses. Father Dave agreed that this was one of the great shames of the Church, and that there is much to answer for.

In that spirit, this country has a lot to answer for on this Father’s Day.

What I learned at life today: It can’t be a truly happy Father’s Day while families are forced from each other.