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Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien, Archbishop of Baltimore, issued the following statement in response to Father Raniero Cantalamessa’s Good Friday comments (fulltext) at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome:
Father Cantalamessa’s words on Good Friday, somehow linking the Catholic Church's sexual abuse scandal with anti-Semitism, were unfortunate and reprehensible. They pose harm to Catholic-Jewish relations in Baltimore and around the world and I personally denounce them.Mistakes this big deserve language at least this strong.
Rightly upset and embarrassed as we are by the scandal we are enduring as Catholics, as frustrated as we are by the sometimes unfair coverage in certain elements of the press, nothing justifies this insensitive, harmful and regrettable comparison.
On behalf of the Catholic Church in Baltimore, I offer apologies to our friends in the Jewish community, to victims of clergy sexual abuse, and to anyone offended by Father Cantalamessa’s personal views.
(H/T to Rock at Whispers)
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Amen.
ReplyDeleteGood for Archbishop O’Brien, and good for you for increasing the audience for his response.
It is unfortunate that we, the Catholic Church, so often speak as if we are alone in the world, as if there are not others who are listening from their own unique perspective, and hearing. The Church's mission is to the world. But it a mission of self-sacrificing love. This must be reflected in everything we preach - always, and at this season above all.
ReplyDeleteI share my own words from the Director's blog at the C21 Center at Boston College: https://share.bc.edu/117/19643
Thanks, Austin, for sharing Archbishop O'Brien's words. I'm in Baltimore and will hear him preach at the Vigil tonight.
Easter peace,
John McGinty
well said.
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter!
Thank you for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteHappy Easter!
Good for the Archbishop....someone has to step up now and stop all of this as it is completely out of control....I do pray for our Pope and I also pray he will step up and address this issue to the world so that the Catholic Church can grow into the church that God meant it to be. We must start at the top. God Bless you....:-) Hugs
ReplyDeleteThank God that was his response... but still, what on earth was Cantalessa thinking?
ReplyDeleteHeal your people O Lord. We all need it.
I wonder if the Archbishop of Baltimore and those who jumped in so quickly to support his rather unfortunate remarks took the trouble to look into the facts. It would be good, even now, if they could read Father Cantalamessa's apology to those who, misunderstanding his words, took offense, or Rabbi Alon Goshen-Gottstein's article "We are bad listeners" the Jerusalem Post, imminsely appreciative of Fr Cantalamessa's message. We are in debt to the Rabbi for his perceptive analysis of our unthinking take on a mischievous press approach to such things.
ReplyDeleteAnd surely it is not too late for Fr Cantalamessa's critics to follow his example and apologise for having in ignorance judged him so hastily
In reply to Denis' comment above, this from a CNN report:
ReplyDelete(CNN) -- The pope's personal preacher apologized Sunday for comparing fury over sexual abuse within the church to anti-Semitism.
"If, against my intention, I've hurt the Jewish people's feelings and those of the victims of child abuse, I'm truly sorry and ask forgiveness," the Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa said in an interview published in the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
He emphasized that Pope Benedict XVI "not only did not inspire" the sermon that contained the comparison, but also "like everyone else, heard my words for the first time during the liturgy."
Here's a link to the Jerusalem Post article Denis refers to. In this article the Rabbi acknowledges that Fr. Cantalamessa's words were "clearly outrageous and drew immediate, and well-justified condemnation from Jewish spokespersons." The Rabbi then provides a wider context for hearing the sermon which "offsets the negative impressions generated by the statements that have made headlines."
Thank you Denis, for this information.