As I see it, John’s current plight is not only due to his own moral failing but the moral failing the Roman Catholic Church which continues to miss the mark when it comes to properly screening, evaluating and forming candidates for the priesthood.

As long as the garbage-in/garbage-out formation system remains common practice in Roman Catholic seminaries, we can expect more victims of these misfit priests who are negligently ordained and then unleashed on the faithful of our parishes. No doubt, low standards will continue as the priest shortage worsens.

There’s a certain irony to the fact that John was designated a moral authority in his diocese by his own bishop while clearly lacking the moral character for such a role. I think this attests to the fact of how little bishops really know about the men they are admitting to their presbyterates on the blind advice of the seminary formation directors they trust.