Reflecting on the Papal Visit - 6

AP Photo by J. Scott Applewhite

An 81 year old pope is moving faster than this 61 year old pastor - and I'm on a day off!

Rocco, again, links us to Benedict's speech to the US Catholic Bishops and the stylized Q&A which followed. Although I've read it all, there's more here than I can comment on but I'll offer these thoughts.

The content and the tone of the talk to the bishops, like the remarks offered at the welcome on the South Lawn of the White House this morning, are accessible, straightforward and appreciative of the best of American faith and culture. There's a critique of the weaknesses in our culture and there are admonitions for addressing those problems. But there is no finger pointing, no condemnation, no scolding of any kind. I mention that because there are many in the American church who expected just that - and many who hoped for it! That, however, was not the pope's agenda. He clearly has come to affirm the best in American Catholicism and to call our church to greater excellence.

I urge you to read this speech. You will find it written in plain language - although addressed to bishops it is clearly also addressed to the whole Catholic people of America. No one will need a degree in theology to understand the message. I look forward to studying it (and definitely the Q&A) for my own purposes as a pastor. While not offering any nifty new ideas for preaching or catechesis, it provides an outline of issues that certainly evidence themselves in all American parishes and mine would be no exception to that rule.

About half the comment and response I've received on my papal posts thus far has centered on how the sexual abuse crisis is being handled in the context of Benedict's visit. It might be helpful, then, to include here the pope's words on the crisis:

Among the countersigns to the Gospel of life found in America and elsewhere is one that causes deep shame: the sexual abuse of minors. Many of you have spoken to me of the enormous pain that your communities have suffered when clerics have betrayed their priestly obligations and duties by such gravely immoral behavior. As you strive to eliminate this evil wherever it occurs, you may be assured of the prayerful support of God's people throughout the world. Rightly, you attach priority to showing compassion and care to the victims. It is 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 so seriously wronged.

Responding to this situation has not been easy and, as the President of your Episcopal Conference has indicated, it was "sometimes very badly handled". Now that the scale and gravity of the problem is more clearly understood, you have been able to adopt more focused remedial and disciplinary measures and to promote a safe environment that gives greater protection to young people. While it must be remembered that the overwhelming majority of clergy and religious in America do outstanding work in bringing the liberating message of the Gospel to the people entrusted to their care, it is vitally important that the vulnerable always be shielded from those who would cause harm. In this regard, your efforts to heal and protect are bearing great fruit not only for those directly under your pastoral care, but for all of society.

If they are to achieve their full purpose, however, the policies and programs you have adopted need to be placed in a wider context. Children deserve to grow up with a healthy understanding of sexuality and its proper place in human relationships. They should be spared the degrading manifestations and the crude manipulation of sexuality so prevalent today. They have a right to be educated in authentic moral values rooted in the dignity of the human person. This brings us back to our consideration of the centrality of the family and the need to promote the Gospel of life. What does it mean to speak of child protection when pornography and violence can be viewed in so many homes through media widely available today? We need to reassess urgently the values underpinning society, so that a sound moral formation can be offered to young people and adults alike. All have a part to play in this task - not only parents, religious leaders, teachers and catechists, but the media and entertainment industries as well. Indeed, every member of society can contribute to this moral renewal and benefit from it. Truly caring about young people and the future of our civilization means recognizing our responsibility to promote and live by the authentic moral values which alone enable the human person to flourish. It falls to you, as pastors modeled upon Christ, the Good Shepherd, to proclaim this message loud and clear, and thus to address the sin of abuse within the wider context of sexual mores. Moreover, by acknowledging and confronting the problem when it occurs in an ecclesial setting, you can give a lead to others, since this scourge is found not only within your Dioceses, but in every sector of society. It calls for a determined, collective response.

In some ways, this is more than I expected; in other ways, it's less than I might have hoped for. Still it is a definite and deliberate step in the right direction. As I noted in a post below, I do not expect that Benedict will do all the things his harshest critics call him to do. It's possible that there are some who would not be satisfied with anything or everything he might do. I hope that his statement to the bishops this afternoon will lead some bishops to be more vocal about this than they have been in the past. Certainly the pope's words will be the cause of continued debate and conversation.

Finally, you'll note at the end of the text of the Q&A this post-script:

At the close of the question period, the conference's president Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, presented the Pope with a "birthday gift" of $870,000 for the support of the poor of the world. And then, in a first, the pontiff conferred the Golden Rose -- an ancient and rarely given papal honor -- on the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

An example of the Golden Rose given by a pope to person or place of honor.

I'll be surprised if this gesture is not condemned by some as trying to put the sweet smell of a rose on something that stinks in the American Church.

I see it differently, especially when I take a few steps back from particular issues and try to take a broader view. I see this honor (one I'd never heard of until this evening) as Benedict's way of leaving behind a sign of the depth and sincerity of his message to America. Again, there are some who will be appalled that the pope would in any way honor the Catholic experience in the US - and the appalled will be as many on the left as on the right. But make no mistake about it: this rose is for the whole Church, saints and sinners, in the United States. The rose was bestowed on the national cathedral - in some way's "America's church" - a basilica named for the patroness of this nation, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.

Have no doubt about it: this pope is grateful for the Catholic Church in the US as he calls us all to greater fidelity to the gospel.

-ConcordPastor