More on Joe Paterno

Joe Paterno was laid to rest this week, and yesterday there was a public memorial at the Penn State campus.  I was driving home, back from visiting my parents, and it was late afternoon before the New York radio stations came into range.  I tuned to the FAN, wanting to indulge in a little sports escapism, but all the host, Mike Francesa, seemed talked about was Paterno and his damaged reputation.  He was angry, in spite of his attempts to stay calm and objective.  His anger became apparent when callers tried to sympathize for the late coach.  His position was that until the story is told completely, and full knowledge of what Paterno knew and when comes to light all eulogizing must be put on hold.  These crimes against children are too great to pretend that he had no part in them, or so his reasoning goes.

I agree, to a large extent, with what Francesa had to say, including the charge that the University was trying to go on with this observance as if nothing had happened.  Personally it seemed odd that an institution that expelled  Paterno like a leper just two months ago now hosted what amounted to a pep rally for him at his passing.  A more muted public ceremony was called for, if there should have even been one at all.

Where I part ways with Francesa is the doggedness with which he pursued the issue yesterday.  We have had two months of scrutiny, and we will have years more of investigative reporting, depositions and trials.  I am not suggesting that we observe Joe Paterno's death in a sentimental vacuum.  All the same there is a time to put the sword down, even if it's just for a day.  It is probably to soon to praise Paterno, and its impossible to ignore the events that led to his fall from public grace.  Nonetheless there is a time for all things, including a time to take a pause and repect those who morn.

There is also a bigger issue of justice and its limits.  I believe in a God whose justice is greater than any on earth.  I believe that God's forgiveness and mercy are infinite, and informed by indisputable knowledge of hearts and minds.  I also believe that contrition opens us to purification, what we often call penance.  This penance can happen in this life, or in the life to come.  Eternal punishment, reserved for the unrepentant, we call hell.  Temporal punishment still exists for those who repentant, but who are somehow attached to their sins, or have not made sufficient reparation for their sins.  This we call purgatory.  Related to this is Sacrament of Penance, also known as Confession or Reconciliation, which is widely misunderstood.  In it we are absolved from guilt, but not from the obligation to make up for the wrong we have done.   It is where God's justice and mercy meets, and opens us to God's healing power.  So if Joe Paterno died with a clean conscience, as his son said, it is because God wiped it clean. 

Being so unrelenting in the pursuit of justice, as many seem in this and other cases, puts us in danger of losing sight of the bigger picture, and of actually being unjust our selves.  I fear that, in spite of our claims of being an open and nonjudgmental society, we can be terribly unforgiving and unmerciful.   

My words should not be misunderstood.  There is an earthly justice, and it shouldn't be denied.  There is also freedom of speech, which is at the heart of Mike Francesa's livelihood.  I'm not saying he shouldn't speak his mind, but waiting twenty-four hours in this case would have shown charity; which is greater than sacrifice, and covers a multitude of sins, not to mention, shows a world of class.