“If a sacrament celebrated by a bad priest is still valid, isn't the Church turning a blind eye to sin?”

Holy Orders — a ministry of service for the community

🛡️The Church's answer: The grace of a sacrament rests on Christ's promise, not on the moral perfection of the minister. That is why the faithful are not stripped of the grace of baptism or the Eucharist because of a priest's sin they knew nothing about. But the validity of a sacrament and a priest's fitness for office and criminal responsibility are different questions. A cleric who has abused or committed a crime must be removed from ministry immediately, and the procedures of investigation, punishment and repair of the harm must follow.

🧐If they press further: “So can he keep being given Masses on the grounds that they are valid?” — No. The doctrine that a sacrament can be valid is never a reason to leave a dangerous person in ministry. Safety, truth and accountability come first.

✨In one sentence: “Hold on to the grace Christ gives the faithful — but hold the cleric who did wrong strictly to account, separately, for his ministry and before the law.”