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A Beagle broke free from it's leash and charged at me from the darkness last night while I was riding my bicycle. Teeth bared, snarling, and intent on drawing blood. I crashed my bike in an effort to dodge it's fangs.
It was quite a to do. People stopped their evening stroll to stare. Some offered assistance, the Beagle owners offered mortified apologies as they wrangled their beast back onto it's lead. My mind fixated the entire time on this sole thought: "but you're a Beagle!".
Beagle's are cute and harmless, perhaps annoyingly yappy but kind hearted sweet little things made for cuddles and patting. Beagles are not supposed to be snarling wild banshees.
There I was - shocked, a little worse for wear, blood dripping from my arm, bike chain in a shambles, staring at my nemisis. Who had not given up it's efforts to maul me as it strained at an alarmingly thin lead.
I should have been high tailing it to safety (or at the very least limping away wheeling my now rattling chainless bike behind me at the greatest hobble speed I could muster). But I stood, my mind locked in it's argument with reality.
This is what happens isn't it? We see a thing that doesn't make sense and our brain tries to match it with all the things we think we know. Beagle's are nice, priests are men of God and pure.
This week in Australia Cardinal George Pell was ordered to stand trial for his role in historical child sexual assault by priests in this country. It has taken so very long for a chance at justice for the victims.
For so many years lives have been lost in the ruins of stolen childhoods. The truth of the innocent exchanged for the lies adult brains produced about the purity a priest was supposed to be rather than the evil these abusers were.
I hope that the fog lifts for the victims as the blame and shame are directed to where they should always have been. My hope is that some small light of peace is shone upon their wounds by the acknowledgement that the church must answer to their pain in a court of law. I hope it lets some colour in on the darkness that was inflicted upon them. I hope that they know we care, that we believe them and honour their reality.
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