The news will be released to the press that Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero has been accused of having inappropriate relationships with adult women.

The image of a papal candidate, with so much support, is crumbling. He never called himself a monsignor, or anything of the sort. He feels the pain this may cause many people, but personally, he tells me that he is already grieving the loss of the positions and rank he held until now.

I reminded her of our mothers, when my own mother, a widow, entered into a relationship with a man, also a widower. Her mother, as the older sister, told her that it was a sin, to which my mother replied that the sin was harming someone, and that they weren’t harming anyone. I must say that thanks to my pressure, they got married, although the marriage soon dissolved. The responsibilities towards their children and grandchildren made it difficult.

We find ourselves once again faced with the dilemma of why good people do bad things. Just as I wrote previously, commenting on the case of the founder of the Emmaus Ragpickers, a national figure decorated with the French Legion of Honor.

Neither he, nor I, nor the family, are going to try to hide the truth. There is what there is. He is neither the first nor the last to falter on the sixth commandment.

The family would have been hurt if he had been implicated in some economic or power scheme, or worse, we would not have forgiven him for committing any crime with minors.

But being stripped of his rank and regalia is no trauma for him, since he has always lived as if he didn’t have them. Now he will be closer to those living in irregular situations, of whom there are many.

He is of retirement age and has the strength to work, since the pension he receives is small.

When the truth comes out, we may discover that there were vested interests in silencing his doctrine. The best way to do this is to discredit him. That remains to be seen.

Personally, I still encountered fellow priests who were surprised by my relationship to him. Now I think everyone knows. Bad news carries more weight than good.

I have seen in Christopher that the same compassion he has shown to others, he is not showing to himself. The only thing he feels is the harm he might cause to the Church.

This should open a debate about celibacy. And even more so about the personal relationships of consecrated persons. Sacrifice, self-giving, austerity, living the Gospel naturally, being close to and a voice for the weak—all of this is going to be undermined by a matter of women.

Perhaps we had deified a person and were wrong. Now, some are trying to demonize them; perhaps they are wrong again.