There are moments in history when corruption is just whispered about. And then there are moments when it is exposed. We are not living in a moment of rumor. We are living in a moment of unveiling.  

What has come to light in recent days is not merely scandal. It is not partisan. It is not “one side versus another.” It is the exposure of a rot that has been festering for a very long time in high places – power shielding perversion, influence protecting exploitation, systems insulating the guilty while the innocent pay the price.  

And when exploitation of the vulnerable becomes networked … When protection of predators becomes mutual … When influence is used not to defend the weak but to silence them … 

We are no longer dealing with isolated sin. We are staring at something civilizational.  

In the Book of Genesis, the Lord said to Abraham: “The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is multiplied, and their sin is become exceedingly grievous” (Genesis 18:20). 

The cry. 

Scripture does not say merely that sin existed. It says it cried out. There are sins that echo. There are sins that shake Heaven. 

And Abraham did not deny the corruption. He did not defend the city. He did not excuse “his side.” 

He pleaded, “If there be fifty just within the city, wilt thou destroy and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty just?” 

And the number fell. 

Forty-five. 

Forty. 

Thirty. 

Twenty. 

Finally: “If there be ten …” 

And the Lord said He would spare it for ten. But ten could not be found. 

So I ask you – not as a politician, not as a pundit, but as a shepherd: 

If the Lord looked upon our nation … 

If He looked upon our institutions … 

If He looked upon His own Church … 

Would He find ten? 

We are not speaking about ordinary weakness. We are not speaking about private moral struggle. We are speaking about corruption protected by power. We are speaking about systems that shield the guilty while the innocent are sacrificed to preserve influence. We are speaking about networks of silence. 

And Scripture tells us that there are sins that cry out to Heaven. 

The blood of Abel cried out. 

The oppression of the poor cries out. 

And the exploitation of the innocent cries out. 

When the vulnerable are harmed and the powerful close ranks – Heaven hears it. And this is where the danger lies. 

Sodom was not destroyed because sinners existed. Sodom was destroyed because the culture itself defended and promoted the sin. 

The men of the city gathered together. They demanded access to the innocent. They mocked righteousness. They threatened Lot for daring to resist them. 

When corruption becomes collective … When depravity becomes normalized … When resistance becomes dangerous … Judgment is no longer theoretical. It becomes imminent. 

The question is not merely: Are there wicked people in high places? There always have been. The question is this: Are there righteous people willing to stand against them? Because the preservation of a civilization does not depend on the perfection of its leaders. It depends on the presence of the righteous. 

Ten. 

Not ten thousand. 

Not a majority. 

Ten. 

God was willing to spare an entire city for ten. But there were not ten. That is what should terrify us. Not scandalous headlines. Scarcity of righteousness.  

And judgment begins in the house of God. 

If we excuse corruption because it is politically useful … 

If we defend immorality because it benefits “our side” … 

If we remain silent because speaking costs influence … 

Then we are not the ten. We are the crowd at the gate. You cannot denounce depravity in one arena and protect it in another. You cannot speak of justice while shielding your tribe. 

The remnant is not partisan. The remnant is faithful.  

Civilizations collapse when moral authority collapses. And moral authority collapses when truth becomes negotiable.  

If righteousness disappears – if courage disappears – if men of God prefer access to power over fidelity to truth – then the fire does not need to fall from Heaven. The collapse will come from within. 

Sodom burned because righteousness was rare. Rome fell because virtue decayed. And every nation that devours its young eventually devours itself.  

This is not a call to panic. It is a call to purification. If God searched your home … Your parish … Your diocese … Your circle of influence …. 

Would He find one of the ten? 

Would He find: 

A man who will not bend? 

A woman who will not excuse? 

A priest who will not soften the truth? 

A bishop who will not barter silence for peace? 

That is the question. Because history is not changed by outrage. It is preserved by holiness. 

Abraham stood between judgment and the city. He did not deny the corruption. He pleaded for righteousness.  

Perhaps this is our hour. Not to rage. Not to speculate. But to become the remnant. To cleanse our own house. To refuse compromise. To protect the innocent without hesitation. To speak truth without calculation. 

If ten can be found, mercy prevails … 

But if not ……. 

Then we should not be surprised when the consequences of moral decay arrive. The fire is not arbitrary. It is the harvest of what has been sown.  

There is a dangerous illusion in every generation. We assume that collapse happens somewhere else. We read about Sodom and think it was ancient. We read about Rome and think it was distant. We read about fallen kingdoms and think we are immune.  

But God does not judge by geography. He judges by righteousness. And Scripture does not present Sodom as a myth. It presents it as a warning.  

St. Peter writes that God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, making them “an example to those that should after act wickedly” (2 Peter 2:6).  

And what was the turning point? It was not that evil existed. It was that righteousness was too rare to restrain it.  

We must understand something clearly. A nation does not survive because of its constitution. It does not endure because of military strength. It does not stand because of economic power. It stands because there are righteous men and women within it.  

But when righteousness becomes a minority voice … When moral clarity becomes embarrassing … When holiness becomes optional … The foundations crack. And when foundations crack long enough, collapse is not dramatic – it is inevitable.  

And let us be very clear. 

If the Church mirrors the culture … If shepherds soften the truth to remain accepted … If clergy fear headlines more than they fear God … If Catholics excuse grave evil because it advances political goals … 

Then we are not preserving the nation. We are hastening its fall. Judgment begins in the house of God.  

If we will not purify ourselves, God will purify us. And His purifications are not gentle.  

History shows us that when the Church becomes worldly, God allows her to be stripped. Comfort removed. Influence removed. Security removed. Not to destroy her – but to reduce her to a faithful and purified remnant.  

We speak of remnant theology. Throughout salvation history, God has always preserved a remnant. In Noah’s time – eight souls. In Elijah’s day – seven thousand who had not bowed the knee to Baal. In exile – a purified few. 

The question is not whether God will preserve His Church. He will. The question is whether we will be among those preserved. Because remnant survival is not guaranteed by baptism alone. It is secured by fidelity. Holiness is no longer optional. It is survival.  

If we do not become a holy people, we will not remain a free people. If we do not defend the innocent without compromise, we will lose the right to speak of justice. If we do not root out corruption in our own house, we cannot expect God to shield our nation from consequences.  

We are not promised immunity. We are promised accountability. And if there are not ten – if righteousness becomes too scarce – then history shows what happens next. 

Collapse.  

Exposure. 

Stripping. 

Purification by fire.  

Not because God delights in destruction. But because He will not indefinitely shield a civilization that devours its own soul.  

The remnant is not dramatic. The remnant is disciplined. 

Daily prayer. 

Sacramental life. 

Moral courage. 

Refusal to excuse evil – even when it costs. 

If we want mercy, we must become the ten. 

If we want preservation, we must become holy. 

If we want our children to inherit a civilization that stands, we must build it on righteousness again.  

Because here is the truth: God would have spared Sodom for ten. But He did not lower the number to five. He did not lower it to one. There is a threshold. And only God knows how close we are.  

This is not a time for outrage only. It is a time for repentance. Not a time for tribal loyalty. It is a time for purification. Not a time to defend “our side.” A time to defend righteousness.  

The question hanging over us is not political. It is eternal. Will He find ten? And will we be among them? 

Sodom was destroyed. But Nineveh repented. And Lent exists precisely because God prefers repentance to fire.  

Lent is not liturgical routine. It is not seasonal symbolism. It is mercy extended before judgment. 

In Scripture, when Nineveh was warned, they fasted in sackcloth and ashes – from the king to the least of them. And God relented. Sodom did not repent. Nineveh did. The difference was not the severity of the sin. It was the response. 

We have entered Lent. And Lent is not about minor adjustments. It is about survival of the soul. If we want to be among the ten, Lent cannot be casual. If we want to be preserved as a remnant, Lent cannot be symbolic. 

Prayer must deepen.  

Fasting must sharpen. 

Confession must become urgent. 

Homes must be purified. 

Hearts must be examined without excuse. 

Because here is the truth we do not like to hear: 

If God must purify a nation, He begins with His people.  

And if His people will not purify themselves, He allows events to do it for them. That is the pattern of salvation history. 

The Book of Revelation does not begin with plagues. It begins with letters to the churches. “Repent.” Over and over. Repent. Remove the compromise. Remove the lukewarmness. Remove the tolerance of corruption. Or I will come and remove your lampstand. 

That is not metaphor. That is warning. The survival of a Christian people depends on holiness. Not political victories. Not cultural influence. Holiness.  

If we do not become holy, we will not remain standing. If we do not become disciplined, we will not remain free. If we do not cleanse our houses, our houses will be shaken.  

God was willing to spare Sodom for ten. But He did not negotiate below ten. There is a threshold. And we do not know how close we are to it. Lent may be mercy extended before that threshold is crossed.  

So do not waste it. Do not treat it lightly. Do not offer God token sacrifices while clinging to compromise. This is not a season for cosmetic change. It is a season for radical return. 

History is full of fallen cities. But it is also full of purified remnants. The question is not whether God will preserve His Church. He will. The question is whether we will belong to what remains. 

Will He find ten? Will he find homes that pray? Fathers who lead? Mothers who guard purity? Priests who preach without fear? Bishops who refuse silence? 

Will He find you?  

Lent is the answer we give before Heaven answers for us. Become holy. Or do not expect to survive what follows.  

May Almighty God bless you, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.  

Bishop Joseph E. Strickland 

Bishop Emeritus