I refuse to leave the Catholic Church because of the recent (and not so recent) sex scandals involving some of our priests, bishops and even higher-ups. By this point, we all are aware of the variety of sexual assaults that have been committed. When people learn we are Catholic, we all have also been probably lashed out at. Among a few of the things I have been asked and told, some more rude and harsh than others, the one that sticks with me has been asked to me by some of my closest friends: "How do you still proclaim you are Catholic and go to weekly Mass when your priests assault altar boys?"

Hearing someone say those words out loud never gets easier. There is never a second that you don't stop after that question and at least subconsciously think, "Why the hell am I still here? Why and how could this have happened?"

In order to realize that we can still be faithful Catholics after tragedies such as these, we need to revisit our roots in Christ. We need to turn to the Bible and our pope for guidance and to help us remember our true purpose as Catholics.

As a Catholic, it is your job to love, respect and worship God first and foremost. It is not your job to blindly take the word of those who publicly act as Christ would; rather, it is your job to discern when God's divine intervention to our clergy stops and humans' selfish intentions begin.

Being a Catholic means being forgiving. Forgiving your enemies, those who betray you and those who betray the innocent. It is not our job as mere mortals to play judge, jury and executioner with God's fellow creations. Forgiveness is hard. Incredibly hard in this case.

As someone who has been sexually assaulted, I can only begin to commiserate with the sexual abuse victims of the Catholic Church. I understand the emotional and spiritual toll it can take on someone. I will never understand the rage, betrayal and guilt the members of the affected churches feel, let alone the families of the victims.

But God calls us to forgiveness. God calls us to greatness. God calls us to draw nearer to Him in times of trouble and despair. Although we as a Catholic community may feel shame over our brothers and sisters in Christ committing such heinous acts, we should not abandon our Church or our faith. If we do that, we are furthering the devil's cause that began in the hearts of the corrupt clergy.

Abandoning the Church and our faith is merely asking Satan to take another step into the Catholic Church and further infiltrate it. By leaving the Church and our faith, we are allowing Satan and his slaves to further destroy the declining Christian base and morale throughout the world.

Here I am, Lord. Is it I? Should I be the one to incessantly pray for forgiveness for those who have committed those heinous crimes? Should I be the one to incessantly pray for the victims, their families, their parishes and their eventual inner peace with themselves and their pasts? Should I be the one to incessantly pray that they either remain in the Church or one day return to Her?

It should be all of us. All of us should pray. Constantly. Without end.