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By Fr. Shay Cullen
, Manila Times Columnist
IT was an unprecedented
historical event of great importance and significance in the
2000-year history of the Catholic Church when Pope Benedict XVI flew
to the United States last week and expressed sorrow and pain and
asked forgiveness for the victims of child sex abuse. He spoke
openly with compassion and deepest concern for the thousands of
victims of clergy sexual abuse. He asked to meet with some
representatives of the victims in a private meeting in the Vatican
Embassy chapel in Washington, DC. This has given great hope to all
advocates and supporters of the victims of child abuse in their work
to save them and bring the abusers to justice.
It was a very emotional meeting.
The victim’s groups have been asking and demanding justice for
many years. They want an end to the coverup of abuse by bishops and
the firing and prosecution of offenders. The scandal cost the Church
an estimated $2 billion in compensation and legal fees and a massive
loss of credibility. Pope Benedict is trying to heal and restore the
loss of trust.
“No words of mine could
describe the pain and harm inflicted by such abuse,” the Pope said
in his homily as he celebrated Mass at the National Stadium filled
with bishops and priests and thousands of Catholics from all over
the United States. “It is important that those who have suffered
be given loving pastoral attention.”
When addressing a gathering of
350 bishops and nine cardinals from every diocese in the United
States at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate
Conception, the Pope said the abuse of children by priests and the
coverup was a cause of “deep shame.”
Pope Benedict called it an
“evil” that has caused enormous pain. He reminded the bishops of
their duty and obligation as Christian pastors to the victims of
abuse: “Your God-given responsibility as pastors to bind up the
wounds caused by every breach of trust, to foster healing, to
promote reconciliation and to reach out with loving concern to those
seriously wronged.” He quoted the words of Cardinal Francis George
spoken earlier when introducing Pope Benedict to the assembly “as
the president of your Episcopal Conference has indicated, it was
‘sometimes very badly handled’.”
How can they be held fully
accountable? Some say they were following a Vatican directive of
1962 written by Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani. It referred to the worst
crime “sexual assault committed by a priest” that came to light
as part of the confessional relationship. If so the crime had been
kept as the strictest secret, “perpetual silence” by the bishop
and all who knew it, including the alleged victim under penalty of
excommunication. Critics say the directive and the sacrament of
penance could have been used as a shield against disclosure.
The Pope’s statements could
reverse that directive. Besides the information about abuse came
through many channels not just the confessional and still they
covered up the crimes. Although today most bishops have a Zero
Tolerance policy for those priests accused with strong evidence
against them.
The hundreds of thousands of
priests, religious and lay people who have abhorred and campaigned
against every form of child abuse and especially clerical abuse are
surely greatly encouraged by this papal support and endorsement of
their advocacy. The Pope’s compassionate speech opens new
possibilities for victims all over the world and in the Philippines
to come out and tell of their ordeals. They or their relatives can
send a text to +639175324453 for immediate help from the Preda
Foundation’s assistance for abused children program.
The Pope has given the example
and the instruction to bishops everywhere to support the victims and
their defenders. He said too that the moral degeneration in Western
society due to the loss of values and pornography on the Internet
and failure to curb it has led to moral corruption. Crimes against
children are mostly committed in the family. The practice of
pedophiles arranging payments to the parents through village
officials is commonplace in the Philippines. So much has to be done
to end this practice too and help the victims. As for the Church,
Pope Benedict himself has shown the way—truly historical indeed.
[Fr. Shay Cullen writes a
Sunday column for The Times.]
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