This is my Pope!
Pope Francis addressed the recent revelations in the Catholic Church abuse scandal in a
letter to the people of god. I know
there are no words that can make the past undone, heal the pain or console
anyone affected by the perpetrators within the church. Nor can it silence the critics
or the enemies of the church. What happened is terrible! For me, the greatest
guilt lies with the enablers. The leaders of the church that rather hid the
problems for the wrong reasons and therefore allowed it to continue over many
decades if not millennia. It hurts to be betrayed by the very same church that
you want to follow, that you expect spiritual guidance from. It is like a
family tells you he loves you and at the same time he betrays you. This is the
little Judas in all of us.
I
do think that Pope Frances found the right words in his most recent letter. I
know we can argue about this, but again, there are no words that can undo what
happened or heal the wounded. All we can do is to look forward and make sure we work
on a much better future and do everything can do prevent anything like this from
happening again.
Below
is an excerpt from this letter that I feel is the heart of his message. The
whole letter can be found in many places on the Internet. Here is one such
location:
Letter of His Holiness Pope Francis to the People of God
"If one member suffers, all suffer together with it" (1 Cor 12:26). These words of Saint Paul forcefully echo in my heart as I acknowledge once more the suffering endured by many minors due to sexual abuse, the abuse of power and the abuse of conscience perpetrated by a significant number of clerics and consecrated persons. Crimes that inflict deep wounds of pain and powerlessness, primarily among the victims, but also in their family members and in the larger community of believers and nonbelievers alike. Looking back to the past, no effort to beg pardon and to seek to repair the harm done will ever be sufficient. Looking ahead to the future, no effort must be spared to create a culture able to prevent such situations from happening, but also to prevent the possibility of their being covered up and perpetuated. The pain of the victims and their families is also our pain, and so it is urgent that we once more reaffirm our commitment to ensure the protection of minors and of vulnerable adults.
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