On March 19, the Vatican published Pope Benedict XVI's Pastoral Letter to the Catholics of Ireland. Reaction has been mixed. Here's a snip from the letter which attempts to trace the sources of sexual abuse of children by clergy:
In recent decades, however, the Church in your country has had to confront new and serious challenges to the faith arising from the rapid transformation and secularization of Irish society. Fast-paced social change has occurred, often adversely affecting people’s traditional adherence to Catholic teaching and values. All too often, the sacramental and devotional practices that sustain faith and enable it to grow, such as frequent confession, daily prayer and annual retreats, were neglected. Significant too was the tendency during this period, also on the part of priests and religious, to adopt ways of thinking and assessing secular realities without sufficient reference to the Gospel. The programme of renewal proposed by the Second Vatican Council was sometimes misinterpreted and indeed, in the light of the profound social changes that were taking place, it was far from easy to know how best to implement it. In particular, there was a well-intentioned but misguided tendency to avoid penal approaches to canonically irregular situations. It is in this overall context that we must try to understand the disturbing problem of child sexual abuse, which has contributed in no small measure to the weakening of faith and the loss of respect for the Church and her teachings.Read the entire text of the pope's letter here.
Only by examining carefully the many elements that gave rise to the present crisis can a clear-sighted diagnosis of its causes be undertaken and effective remedies be found. Certainly, among the contributing factors we can include: inadequate procedures for determining the suitability of candidates for the priesthood and the religious life; insufficient human, moral, intellectual and spiritual formation in seminaries and novitiates; a tendency in society to favour the clergy and other authority figures; and a misplaced concern for the reputation of the Church and the avoidance of scandal, resulting in failure to apply existing canonical penalties and to safeguard the dignity of every person. Urgent action is needed to address these factors, which have had such tragic consequences in the lives of victims and their families, and have obscured the light of the Gospel to a degree that not even centuries of persecution succeeded in doing.
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This scandal (world wide) has had an impact on the Church, Pope, Priest and Catholics.....we have lost our standing in the Christian community and given others reasons to doubt and criticize our beliefs....I have been humbled and humiliated but my pain is no comparison to Jesus suffering on the cross...Satan has found a weakness among our clergy and the poor children who have suffered. In the name of all that is holy I pray for these men, their victims and our church.....I don't want to love them, only forgive them and am having a painful time doing either......:-) Hugs
ReplyDeleteI can"t help but feel the pope is blaming the abuse on the post Vatican II church and modern society. Much, if not most,of the abuse occurred before Vatican II.
ReplyDeleteI felt the Pope's letter was very unispiring! Where does responsibility and accountability begin? It is just so discouraging not to see that. I do think that many thought that abuse was an "American Church Problem".....hmmmm, wonder if that is what is contributing to the empty churches in Europe! I am always amazed when I see young people come forward and really want to become Catholic through the RCIA process. It is inspiring and sometimes unbelievable to my cynical heart!
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