Illustration by Josh Hagler

Now is not a great time to be Catholic. There were other times: Catholics were thrown into pits to be eaten by lions for entertainment in Roman times. That was also not a great time period to be Catholic. We can all agree that a good Catholic, like a good Jew, like a good Mormon, like a good Muslim, like a good Christian, is a good and moral person, but good Catholics are feeling ashamed right about now, particularly in Tucson.

And I'm one of the ones questioning the system.

Here's the breaks. As far back as 1976, the Tucson Catholic Diocese had reports that a priest was sexually abusing children. The diocese did nothing about it for 25 years until forced to deal with the issue. Correction! Apparently, the diocese was indeed doing something; even though it had received numerous complaints against Father Robert Trupia, he was promoted and received scholarships during the 25-year period.

It's been happening for a few years now: Catholic priests accused of improper conduct. In Trupia's case, the suits were settled last month for upwards of 16 million dollars. From the congregation's viewpoint, that's a lot of money that could have gone to charity. The Yuma Police Department is also unhappy with the outcome. The investigations went on for years due to a constant lack of cooperation from the diocese. "They were never helpful to us," said Yuma Police Detective Sgt. Jan Schmitt, who began investigating the case when Trupia was finally put on suspension.

The details are terrible. They involve many frightened young boys. But what might be more horrifying is the fact that these boys confided in other priests who were shunned by superiors when they tried to confront and accuse Trupia. The diocese was negligent - that much is clear.

These accusations also call into question the entire function of the church. Since cases have been brought about, new rules about priests spending time alone with minors have been enforced. While apparently necessary, the role is diminished. Runaways and other youth must be able to seek solitude in the rectory (the priest's home/dorm). Confession, a private exchange and opportunity to seek advice should be sacred, not scary. And overnight retreats and camps were the coolest part of being a Catholic kid that and Christmas. All of that is now marred. And so is the reputation of Bishop Manuel Moreno. Just before much of this, he brought in his replacement, Bishop Gerald Kicanas. Tucson Catholics deserve a thorough explanation from Moreno before he steps down, and a promise from Kicanas that this is the end of the line.

The Catholic Church is quickly getting a bad rap for yet another serious problem it's facing. In fact, it's nearly becoming a stereotype. Like any other stereotype, the last thing Catholics need right now is to be pigeonholed into a nasty butt of the joke religion. It's bad timing because we're heading into our most important time of the year. On Wednesday, we received ashes on our foreheads to mark the 40 days leading up to Easter - the resurrection of Jesus. It's an interesting 40 days, called Lent, where we attempt to sacrifice of ourselves and of our time in charitable acts to give back to our community. It's often a time of working for social justice.

But you'd have a hard time figuring out all that from what Hollywood has just produced. As if having our priests splashed all over the headlines wasn't enough, Catholics are going to have to sit through the miserable few weeks that the new movie "Forty Days and Forty Nights" is out in theaters. It hasn't been released yet, but it's just in time for Lent as the leading man sets out to give up sex for 40 days and 40 nights. That's hilarious! I guess. For some people. But not Catholics. Lent marks the history of the execution of Jesus, and it's really hard to get Catholics to laugh at that. So for Hollywood to take a religious ceremony and turn it into a sophomoric B movie about trying to sacrifice sex for 40 days is frustrating. No pun intended.

Like I was saying, it's not a great time to be Catholic.