Pastor Randy Meadows of Louisville's City of Refuge Church so believes in the power of God to transform individuals that he's willing to use the welfare of children as collateral.
Mark Hourigan, who was found guilty of sexually abusing an 11-year-old in 1998, is scheduled to become an ordained minister at Meadow's church. Meadows claims that Hourigan deserves forgiveness and that society should look past his previous crimes because "the Lord has touched his heart."
We can't think of any further lengths that one could go to to prove a point. As far as gambling is concerned, this is crazier than Christopher Walken playing Russian Roulette at the end of the "The Deer Hunter."
Meadows already admits that Hourigan wasn't open about his past until he was confronted. If he was ready and willing to be ordained based on false pretenses about his past life, why would anyone think he would be open and up-front about anything else? If he was so set on repenting, why wasn't he openly asking for forgiveness?
If someone tried to pitch "Kindergarten Cop" as a heartwarming comedy with Arnold Schwarzenegger as a convicted child molester getting a "second chance at life," the answer would immediately be "no." The idea to let this play out in real life should not be green-lighted, either.
The plan to ordain Hourigan stems from letting faith, as well as the desire to be right, distort rational thinking. If Meadows wants to prove the power of his faith, he could do it in a number of ways that don't allow a registered sex offender any authority over a group of children.
