What the admirers of clerics see are devoted ministers, faithful stewards, men prepared to be patient with everyone, spending the love of their hearts on those they want to help, men who seek not their own interests but those of Jesus Christ. The observers praise such conduct but forget that these good men are interspersed among bad ones. Other onlookers censure the avarice of the clergy, their improper behavior and their quarrels, representing them as greedy for other people’s money, drunkards and gluttons. You, the critic, are prejudiced in your vilification, just as you, the admirer, are injudicious in your praise. You who eulogize the clergy must admit that there are bad men among them; you who revile them must see in their ranks there are good men too.
Make no mistake, brothers and sisters,: if you do not want to be deceived, and aspire to love the brethren, be aware that there are dissemblers in every profession in the Church. I do not say that every person is a hypocrite, but that every profession has its hypocrites. There are bad Christians, but there are good Christians too. You seem to see more bad ones, because they are the chaff and they block your view of the grain. But the grains are there: look more closely, feel them, shake them out, and judge by the taste.