Long before my people journeyed to this land your people were here, and
you received from your elders an understanding of creation, and of the
Mystery that surrounds us all that was deep, and rich and to be
treasured. We did not hear you when you shared your vision. In our zeal
to tell you the good news of Jesus Christ we were closed to the value
of your spirituality. We confused western ways and culture with the
depth and breadth and length and height of the gospel of Christ. We
imposed our civilization as a condition of accepting the Gospel. We
tried to make you like us and in doing so we helped to destroy the
vision that made you what you were. As a result, you, and we, are
poorer and the image of the Creator in us is twisted, blurred and we
are not what we are meant by God to be. We ask you to forgive us and to
walk together with us in the spirit of Christ so that our peoples may
be blessed and God's creation healed
I am here today as Moderator of The United Church of Canada to speak
the words that many people have wanted to hear for a very long time. On
behalf of The United Church of Canada I apologize for the pain and
suffering that our church's involvement in the Indian Residential
School system has caused. We are aware of some of the damage that this
cruel and ill-conceived system of assimilation has perpetrated on
Canada's First Nations peoples. For this we are truly and most humbly
sorry.
To those individuals who were physically, sexually and mentally abused
as students of the Indian Residential Schools in which The United
Church of Canada was involved, I offer you our most sincere apology.
You did nothing wrong. You were and are the victims of evil acts that
cannot under any circumstances be justified or excused. We pray that
you will hear the sincerity of our words today and that you will
witness the living out of this apology in our actions in the future.
Apology to Indigenous Peoples and Victims of Sexual Abuse
...Whenever the truth has been suppressed by governments and their
agencies or even by Christian communities, the wrongs done to the
indigenous peoples need to be honestly acknowledged. The Synod
supported the establishment of "Truth Commissions",(102) where these
can help resolve historical injustices and bring about reconciliation
within the wider community or the nation. The past cannot be undone,
but honest recognition of past injustices can lead to measures and
attitudes which will help to rectify the damaging effects for both the
indigenous community and the wider society. The Church expresses deep
regret and asks forgiveness where her children have been or still are
party to these wrongs. Aware of the shameful injustices done to
indigenous peoples in Oceania, the Synod Fathers apologized
unreservedly for the part played in these by members of the Church,
especially where children were forcibly separated from their
families.(103) Governments are encouraged to pursue with still greater
energy programmes to improve the conditions and the standard of living
of indigenous groups in the vital areas of health, education,
employment and housing...
...In certain parts of Oceania, sexual abuse by some clergy and
religious has caused great suffering and spiritual harm to the victims.
It has been very damaging in the life of the Church and has become an
obstacle to the proclamation of the Gospel. The Synod Fathers condemned
all sexual abuse and all forms of abuse of power, both within the
Church and in society as a whole. Sexual abuse within the Church is a
profound contradiction of the teaching and witness of Jesus Christ. The
Synod Fathers wished to apologize unreservedly to the victims for the
pain and disillusionment caused to them.(171) The Church in Oceania is
seeking open and just procedures to respond to complaints in this area,
and is unequivocally committed to compassionate and effective care for
the victims, their families, the whole community, and the offenders
themselves...
(For full text of Ecclesia, visit
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_20011122_ecclesia-in-oceania_en.html)
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The pastoral visit which I recently made to Bavaria was a deep
spiritual experience, bringing together personal memories linked to
places well known to me and pastoral initiatives towards an effective
proclamation of the Gospel for today.
I thank God for the interior joy which he made possible, and I am also
grateful to all those who worked hard for the success of this Pastoral
Visit.
As is the custom, I will speak more of this during next Wednesday's
general audience.
At this time, I wish also to add that I am deeply sorry for the
reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address at the
University of Regensburg, which were considered offensive to the
sensibility of Muslims.
These in fact were a quotation from a medieval text, which do not in
any way express my personal thought.
Yesterday, the Cardinal Secretary of State published a statement in
this regard in which he explained the true meaning of my words.
I hope that this serves to appease hearts and to clarify the true
meaning of my address, which in its totality was and is an invitation
to frank and sincere dialogue, with great mutual respect.
Cardinal Roger Mahony's Apology to Victims of Sexual Abuse (July 2007)
Good morning everyone
We gather today because this long journey has now come to an end and a new chapter of that journey is beginning. During the past year over a year it has been my privilege and grace to meet with many, many victims one by one together with Judge McCoy. And during this time I have come to understand far more deeply than I ever could the impact of this terrible sin and crime that has affected their lives. I said to most of the victims who I met with, I used this example. I said, your life I wish were [like] a VHS tape, where we could put the cassette in, press rewind, delete these years of misery, and difficulty and start over when you were young and just before this happened.
I said I apologize because I cannot do that. I wish I could. And as we -- as I listen to so many of these stories I became more and more determined that we had to get all these cases settled. So beginning last June last year with Judge McCoy’s great assistance we began our efforts to settle all the cases that fell outside of periods of insurance. And we did that. So by late November those 42 cases had been settled and, and those released.
So many of the victims told me in various ways that even though the cases are resolved, even though they're receiving some compensation there really is no way to go back and give them that innocence which was taken from them. It is the one part of the settlement process that I find the most frustrating because the one thing I wish I could give the victims, I cannot, and that is a restoration to where they were originally.
However, during these sessions I also came to realize that many have made progress along the road, many are married with families, small children, all are concerned. And one of the things that they were very interested in hearing is what the church has done that we have not just spent our time trying to resolve these lawsuits, but rather trying to make sure that the church is safe for everyone, especially children and young people.
And so we have begun in the year 2002 one of the most extensive programs and processes to make sure that anyone in the church who works with children and young people is qualified and does not bring to that ministry or that apostolate any harm or danger of harm to children. So everybody like myself was all fingerprinted. We do criminal background checks.
We began an expansive program of making our parishes a safe place for children, called the Save the Children Program.
Over 40 thousand people have now been trained, adults. They've been trained, we're training children how to interpret signs that may come to them, signs that someone may be grooming them for some kind of abuse, how to recognize that, and do something about it.
So I explained to the victims while I can’t go back and restore what was lost you need to understand that out of your pain and your suffering and your loss has come a grace and a benefit and that is you have helped the Catholic Church, other churches, and schools, to take more seriously this danger and this harm to our society.
And so I said even though I can’t restore what was lost. There is good that came out of this and the fact that you stepped forward as victims to tell your stories, to ask to be recognized to ask me to accept responsibility for that and to offer personal apologies. And they said all of that has helped for the future, knowing that what they’ve suffered has not been a total loss.
Once again I apologize to anyone who’s been offended, who’s been abused in the church by lists priests and lay people or lay people in the church. It should not have happened and should not ever happen again.
And so our efforts go forward while we reach a settlement of the civil cases we still stay focused on the road ahead and that is to never let down our guard to make sure that everyone is properly trained and screened that that deals with children and young people I the Catholic Church.
As you know the costs have appeared in the media of 660 million dollars. Where that comes from is adding a few things together. Of the 660 million 250 million of that is being paid by the archdiocese. Approximately 227 million at this time by insurance companies, approximately 60 million dollars by religious orders, since a lot of them actually are named in these lawsuits, and the remainder 123 million hopefully a good deal of that will be recovered in the processes ahead to deal with those religious orders and other defendants who chose not to participate with us in the settlement.
But the settlement of the 508 cases effectively ends all of the litigation involving the archdiocese of Los Angeles. Will there be impact upon the archdiocese, of course, and I said that very clearly early in December of last year when we resolved those cases because not only will we be selling buildings, the number of them that will have to be sold, we're trying to sell properties that do not directly impact the core ministry of the church but there are properties that will be sold.
We also will have to take some investment moneys from various places and use those as well and we're going to have to borrow some money to meet our responsibility. So we have down the road a lot of work to do. As you know we have reached this agreement in principle, a lot of the details and a lot of the payment schedule that's something that the attorneys will work out in the coming weeks. That's to take care of the overall settlement.
I’m also able to say that we're not selling any parish properties or parish schools to meet this indebtedness. This is something that the archdiocese and our finance counsel are working on to handle ourselves internally.
So that is pretty much an overview of where we are today. It is pretty much in many ways I’m relieved that this day has come but only cautiously so and that is I’m only relieved that the victims no longer have to suffer through this and they can move forward. But at the same time I’m being very cautious because now my responsibility is to make sure that the church stays safe for all the years to come.
Transcript by Kay Ebling at City of Angels:
(http://cityofangels3.blogspot.com/2007/07/transcript-of-bland-apology-mahony.html)
The Holy Father and my Superior, Bishop Bernard Fellay, have requested that I reconsider the remarks I made on Swedish television four months ago, because their consequences have been so heavy.
Observing these consequences I can truthfully say that I regret having made such remarks, and that if I had known beforehand the full harm and hurt to which they would give rise, especially to the Church, but also to survivors and relatives of victims of injustice under the Third Reich, I would not have made them.
On Swedish television I gave only the opinion (..."I believe"..."I believe"...) of a non-historian, an opinion formed 20 years ago on the basis of evidence then available, and rarely expressed in public since.
However, the events of recent weeks and the advice of senior members of the Society of St. Pius X have persuaded me of my responsibility for much distress caused. To all souls that took honest scandal from what I said, before God I apologize.
As the Holy Father has said, every act of injust violence against one man hurts all mankind.
Richard Williamson
Letter from Pope Benedict on Society of St. Pius X Affair (March 2009):
LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI
TO THE BISHOPS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
concerning the remission of the excommunication
of the four Bishops consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre
Dear Brothers in the Episcopal Ministry!
The remission of the excommunication of the four Bishops consecrated in 1988 by Archbishop Lefebvre without a mandate of the Holy See has for many reasons caused, both within and beyond the Catholic Church, a discussion more heated than any we have seen for a long time. Many Bishops felt perplexed by an event which came about unexpectedly and was difficult to view positively in the light of the issues and tasks facing the Church today. Even though many Bishops and members of the faithful were disposed in principle to take a positive view of the Pope's concern for reconciliation, the question remained whether such a gesture was fitting in view of the genuinely urgent demands of the life of faith in our time. Some groups, on the other hand, openly accused the Pope of wanting to turn back the clock to before the Council: as a result, an avalanche of protests was unleashed, whose bitterness laid bare wounds deeper than those of the present moment. I therefore feel obliged to offer you, dear Brothers, a word of clarification, which ought to help you understand the concerns which led me and the competent offices of the Holy See to take this step. In this way I hope to contribute to peace in the Church.
An unforeseen mishap for me was the fact that the Williamson case came on top of the remission of the excommunication. The discreet gesture of mercy towards four Bishops ordained validly but not legitimately suddenly appeared as something completely different: as the repudiation of reconciliation between Christians and Jews, and thus as the reversal of what the Council had laid down in this regard to guide the Church's path. A gesture of reconciliation with an ecclesial group engaged in a process of separation thus turned into its very antithesis: an apparent step backwards with regard to all the steps of reconciliation between Christians and Jews taken since the Council - steps which my own work as a theologian had sought from the beginning to take part in and support. That this overlapping of two opposed processes took place and momentarily upset peace between Christians and Jews, as well as peace within the Church, is something which I can only deeply deplore. I have been told that consulting the information available on the internet would have made it possible to perceive the problem early on. I have learned the lesson that in the future in the Holy See we will have to pay greater attention to that source of news. I was saddened by the fact that even Catholics who, after all, might have had a better knowledge of the situation, thought they had to attack me with open hostility. Precisely for this reason I thank all the more our Jewish friends, who quickly helped to clear up the misunderstanding and to restore the atmosphere of friendship and trust which - as in the days of Pope John Paul II - has also existed throughout my pontificate and, thank God, continues to exist.
Another mistake, which I deeply regret, is the fact that the extent and limits of the provision of 21 January 2009 were not clearly and adequately explained at the moment of its publication. The excommunication affects individuals, not institutions. An episcopal ordination lacking a pontifical mandate raises the danger of a schism, since it jeopardizes the unity of the College of Bishops with the Pope. Consequently the Church must react by employing her most severe punishment - excommunication - with the aim of calling those thus punished to repent and to return to unity. Twenty years after the ordinations, this goal has sadly not yet been attained. The remission of the excommunication has the same aim as that of the punishment: namely, to invite the four Bishops once more to return. This gesture was possible once the interested parties had expressed their recognition in principle of the Pope and his authority as Pastor, albeit with some reservations in the area of obedience to his doctrinal authority and to the authority of the Council. Here I return to the distinction between individuals and institutions. The remission of the excommunication was a measure taken in the field of ecclesiastical discipline: the individuals were freed from the burden of conscience constituted by the most serious of ecclesiastical penalties. This disciplinary level needs to be distinguished from the doctrinal level. The fact that the Society of Saint Pius X does not possess a canonical status in the Church is not, in the end, based on disciplinary but on doctrinal reasons. As long as the Society does not have a canonical status in the Church, its ministers do not exercise legitimate ministries in the Church. There needs to be a distinction, then, between the disciplinary level, which deals with individuals as such, and the doctrinal level, at which ministry and institution are involved. In order to make this clear once again: until the doctrinal questions are clarified, the Society has no canonical status in the Church, and its ministers - even though they have been freed of the ecclesiastical penalty - do not legitimately exercise any ministry in the Church.
In light of this situation, it is my intention henceforth to join the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei" - the body which has been competent since 1988 for those communities and persons who, coming from the Society of Saint Pius X or from similar groups, wish to return to full communion with the Pope - to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. This will make it clear that the problems now to be addressed are essentially doctrinal in nature and concern primarily the acceptance of the Second Vatican Council and the post-conciliar magisterium of the Popes. The collegial bodies with which the Congregation studies questions which arise (especially the ordinary Wednesday meeting of Cardinals and the annual or biennial Plenary Session) ensure the involvement of the Prefects of the different Roman Congregations and representatives from the world's Bishops in the process of decision-making. The Church's teaching authority cannot be frozen in the year 1962 - this must be quite clear to the Society. But some of those who put themselves forward as great defenders of the Council also need to be reminded that Vatican II embraces the entire doctrinal history of the Church. Anyone who wishes to be obedient to the Council has to accept the faith professed over the centuries, and cannot sever the roots from which the tree draws its life.
I hope, dear Brothers, that this serves to clarify the positive significance and also the limits of the provision of 21 January 2009. But the question still remains: Was this measure needed? Was it really a priority? Aren't other things perhaps more important? Of course there are more important and urgent matters. I believe that I set forth clearly the priorities of my pontificate in the addresses which I gave at its beginning. Everything that I said then continues unchanged as my plan of action. The first priority for the Successor of Peter was laid down by the Lord in the Upper Room in the clearest of terms: "You. strengthen your brothers" (Lk 22:32). Peter himself formulated this priority anew in his first Letter: "Always be prepared to make a defence to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you" (1 Pet 3:15). In our days, when in vast areas of the world the faith is in danger of dying out like a flame which no longer has fuel, the overriding priority is to make God present in this world and to show men and women the way to God. Not just any god, but the God who spoke on Sinai; to that God whose face we recognize in a love which presses "to the end" (cf. Jn 13:1) - in Jesus Christ, crucified and risen. The real problem at this moment of our history is that God is disappearing from the human horizon, and, with the dimming of the light which comes from God, humanity is losing its bearings, with increasingly evident destructive effects.
Leading men and women to God, to the God who speaks in the Bible: this is the supreme and fundamental priority of the Church and of the Successor of Peter at the present time. A logical consequence of this is that we must have at heart the unity of all believers. Their disunity, their disagreement among themselves, calls into question the credibility of their talk of God. Hence the effort to promote a common witness by Christians to their faith - ecumenism - is part of the supreme priority. Added to this is the need for all those who believe in God to join in seeking peace, to attempt to draw closer to one another, and to journey together, even with their differing images of God, towards the source of Light - this is interreligious dialogue. Whoever proclaims that God is Love "to the end" has to bear witness to love: in loving devotion to the suffering, in the rejection of hatred and enmity - this is the social dimension of the Christian faith, of which I spoke in the Encyclical Deus Caritas Est.
So if the arduous task of working for faith, hope and love in the world is presently (and, in various ways, always) the Church's real priority, then part of this is also made up of acts of reconciliation, small and not so small. That the quiet gesture of extending a hand gave rise to a huge uproar, and thus became exactly the opposite of a gesture of reconciliation, is a fact which we must accept. But I ask now: Was it, and is it, truly wrong in this case to meet half-way the brother who "has something against you" (cf. Mt 5:23ff.) and to seek reconciliation? Should not civil society also try to forestall forms of extremism and to incorporate their eventual adherents - to the extent possible - in the great currents shaping social life, and thus avoid their being segregated, with all its consequences? Can it be completely mistaken to work to break down obstinacy and narrowness, and to make space for what is positive and retrievable for the whole? I myself saw, in the years after 1988, how the return of communities which had been separated from Rome changed their interior attitudes; I saw how returning to the bigger and broader Church enabled them to move beyond one-sided positions and broke down rigidity so that positive energies could emerge for the whole. Can we be totally indifferent about a community which has 491 priests, 215 seminarians, 6 seminaries, 88 schools, 2 university-level institutes, 117 religious brothers, 164 religious sisters and thousands of lay faithful? Should we casually let them drift farther from the Church? I think for example of the 491 priests. We cannot know how mixed their motives may be. All the same, I do not think that they would have chosen the priesthood if, alongside various distorted and unhealthy elements, they did not have a love for Christ and a desire to proclaim him and, with him, the living God. Can we simply exclude them, as representatives of a radical fringe, from our pursuit of reconciliation and unity? What would then become of them?
Certainly, for some time now, and once again on this specific occasion, we have heard from some representatives of that community many unpleasant things - arrogance and presumptuousness, an obsession with one-sided positions, etc. Yet to tell the truth, I must add that I have also received a number of touching testimonials of gratitude which clearly showed an openness of heart. But should not the great Church also allow herself to be generous in the knowledge of her great breadth, in the knowledge of the promise made to her? Should not we, as good educators, also be capable of overlooking various faults and making every effort to open up broader vistas? And should we not admit that some unpleasant things have also emerged in Church circles? At times one gets the impression that our society needs to have at least one group to which no tolerance may be shown; which one can easily attack and hate. And should someone dare to approach them - in this case the Pope - he too loses any right to tolerance; he too can be treated hatefully, without misgiving or restraint.
Dear Brothers, during the days when I first had the idea of writing this letter, by chance, during a visit to the Roman Seminary, I had to interpret and comment on Galatians 5:13-15. I was surprised at the directness with which that passage speaks to us about the present moment: "Do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself'. But if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you are not consumed by one another." I am always tempted to see these words as another of the rhetorical excesses which we occasionally find in Saint Paul. To some extent that may also be the case. But sad to say, this "biting and devouring" also exists in the Church today, as expression of a poorly understood freedom. Should we be surprised that we too are no better than the Galatians? That at the very least we are threatened by the same temptations? That we must always learn anew the proper use of freedom? And that we must always learn anew the supreme priority, which is love? The day I spoke about this at the Major Seminary, the feast of Our Lady of Trust was being celebrated in Rome. And so it is: Mary teaches us trust. She leads us to her Son, in whom all of us can put our trust. He will be our guide - even in turbulent times. And so I would like to offer heartfelt thanks to all the many Bishops who have lately offered me touching tokens of trust and affection, and above all assured me of their prayers. My thanks also go to all the faithful who in these days have given me testimony of their constant fidelity to the Successor of Saint Peter. May the Lord protect all of us and guide our steps along the way of peace. This is the prayer that rises up instinctively from my heart at the beginning of this Lent, a liturgical season particularly suited to interior purification, one which invites all of us to look with renewed hope to the light which awaits us at Easter.
With a special Apostolic Blessing, I remain
Yours in the Lord,
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
From the Vatican, 10 March 2009
In the name of and on behalf of the nearly 800,000 faithful of the Church of Pittsburgh, I am humbled to welcome and thank all who have gathered together in this moment of prayer. This night we take the opportunity to both acknowledge and celebrate God’s mercy and forgiveness as we acknowledge the failings, the sins of men and women who represent the Church. And while the Church is truly divine, fully given its mission as the Body of Christ by Jesus Himself, we are also a very human Church, comprised of people who are human and sinful. You come here, many of you, with hurts that you hold, and perhaps painfully so, in the inner recesses of your hearts. And so within the context of our prayer, as Bishop of this Church of Pittsburgh, I stand here to apologize in the name of the Church for any ways in which any representatives of the Church have hurt you.
Now I ask you to turn your attention to three powerful vignettes which speak to our being here this night.
Within this context and in anticipation of the millennium year 2000, the late great Pope John Paul II stood before the world’s stage and did something unprecedented. He asked the world for forgiveness for the ways in which the world was hurt by the words and actions of the members and leaders of the Church. [1]
In prayerful fashion, Pope John Paul II began his apology quoting from the Old Testament Book of Daniel: “Blessed are you O Lord, the God of our Fathers for we have sinned and transgressed by departing from you and we have done every kind of evil. Your commandments we have not heeded or observed.” (Daniel 3:26, 29-30) The Pope continued: “The Church imitates an example of this prayer and asks forgiveness for the historical sins of all of her children. “Church should become fully conscious of the sinfulness of her children recalling all those times in history … when … instead of offering to the world the witness of a life inspired by the values of faith, indulged in ways of thinking and acting which were truly forms of counter witness and scandal especially when they involve the respect that is owed to individuals and communities.” [2]
The second story is the one we’ve heard tonight from the lips of Jesus Himself. Shortly after His resurrection from the dead, Jesus meets an embarrassed Peter as head of the Church, a position entrusted to him by Jesus Himself, who must now look Jesus eyeball to eyeball and acknowledge that he betrayed Jesus not once, not twice, but three times. With three questions from the lips of Jesus, “Simon Peter, do you love me more than these others do?”; a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”; and again a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Jesus gave Peter, “the head of the Church” not one, not two, but three opportunities to both acknowledge his sins and failures and to respond to new opportunities of trust. To Peter, Jesus said, “feed my lambs;” “look after my sheep;” “feed my sheep.” And in answer to each of Jesus’ three questions, embracing Jesus’ three acts of trust, Peter responded by saying, “Lord, you know that I love you.”
The third story and clearly the most painful of the stories is our story, our gathering together in this Mother Church of Pittsburgh. In a very real moment of woundedness, I stand before you tonight as Shepherd of the Church of Pittsburgh and embrace the presence of each of you, women and men, who come here tonight showing by your presence that somewhere, sometime in your life you have been hurt by someone who was entrusted to represent Jesus and His Church, but failed to do so. Some of you have already expressed your hurt; for many others of you, you do so this night by your being here. You call me, as leader of the Church of Pittsburgh, to not only not forget the sins of those who have hurt you, but you charge me with the need to continue to work to secure that the sins not happen again.
As I stand before you, I see also the face of Christ, the Jesus who met Peter on the seashore, confronting Peter’s betrayal. Your very presence here tonight both painful and trusting, confronts the need for the Church to ask forgiveness from you and the opportunity to renew your trust in the Church as Jesus renewed His trust in Peter.
To those of you who looked for the compassion of Christ in the sacrament of Penance but found only scolding and harsh judgment in return—I ask you, the Church asks you, for forgiveness.
To those of you who found sacred moments in your life and the life of your family (baptisms, weddings, funerals) met with callous, heartless, unfeeling, un-Christian-like attention to your need—I ask you, the Church asks you, for forgiveness.
To those of you who are here tonight who have in any way been the victims of any abuse, sexual or otherwise, whether as a child or as an adult, or as a parent, or sibling, or friend who shared in the pain of that someone you love—I ask you, the Church asks you, for forgiveness.
To those of you who came to the Church, rightly expecting her to help you understand the rich tradition of our teachings and traditions, but met with a less than half-hearted response—I ask you, the Church asks you, for forgiveness.
To those of you who have been hurt by the poor judgment of others entrusted with leadership—I ask you, the Church asks you, for forgiveness.
To those of you who believed in the Church to be a voice against prejudice but found, rather, a deafening silence—I ask you, the Church asks you, for forgiveness.
To those of you who looked to the leaders of the Church—lay, religious or ordained—to give good example but met, rather, with a philosophy that said: “Do as I say, not as I do,”—I ask you, the Church asks you, for forgiveness.
To those of you who needed the Church to be with you in sickness, in grief, in trauma, in turmoil, but found her representatives to be too busy—I ask you, the Church asks you, for forgiveness.
To those of you who have offered your talents for the mission of the Church, but experienced an injustice in the Church’s workplace—I ask you, the Church asks you, for forgiveness.
For whatever ways any representative of the Church has hurt, offended, dismissed, ignored, any one of you—I ask you, the Church asks you, for forgiveness.
For any ways that I personally, as your Bishop, whether in speech or deed, by omission and commission, have disappointed, not heard, or dismissed you, I ask you for your forgiveness.
At the conclusion of his public act of repentance for the sins of anyone who represented the Church, Pope John Paul II said: “the penitent attitude of the Church in our time turns our gaze to the past and to the recognition of sins, so that they will serve as a lesson for a future of ever clearer witness.” [3]
With all the love in my heart and with all the sincerity in my soul, you can be assured that I will do all that I am able to do to restore your trust in the Church and to work together with you to reflect the very love, compassion, mercy of Jesus Himself in and through the Church.
Shortly before her death from cancer in 1990, Sister Thea Bowman, an African American Sister who had a reputation of portraying the very face of Christ and challenged all whom she met to become more like Christ, was part of a concert for people afflicted with AIDS. Her words that day brought a challenge to all. Thea Bowman said: “I have come tonight seeking a blessing. I have come tonight seeking a healing. I don’t usually talk about myself, but tonight I want to tell you a little about me. I have cancer. More importantly, I have something in common with my brothers and sisters who have AIDS—weight loss, hair loss, loss of voice, weakness, fatigue, exhaustion. I’m here tonight to say, God IS! GOD MADE ME! GOD LOVES ME. I WANT TO LIVE MY BEST; I WANT TO LOVE MY BEST; I WANT TO DO MY BEST; I WANT TO GIVE MY BEST.” [4]
Like Sister Thea, I stand before you tonight on behalf of the Church seeking your blessing, seeking your forgiveness, seeking a healing so that we as Church can live our best; love our best; do our best; and give our best.
NOTES
1. Memory and Reconciliation: The Church and the Faults of the Past: The Pope Speaks; Vol. 45, No. 4, July/August 2000; p. 212.
2. The Church Asks Pardon for Her Children’s Sins: The Pope Speaks; Vol. 45, No. 1, January-February 2000, pp. 49-50.
3. Ibid; p. 50.
4. Burghardt, Walter J.; Long Have I Loved You; Orbis Books, 2000 p. 409-410.
Cardinal Sean Brady apologized to victims of child sexual abuse (March 2010)
My sisters and brothers in Christ: Today, Irish people across the world are remembering St Patrick and the land of their birth. Most will do so with joy and pride. They will celebrate the enormous contribution of this nation to the Christian faith and heritage across the world. They will celebrate a people renowned for generosity to others in need.
Ireland and its people have much to be proud of. Yet every land and its people have moments of shame. Dealing with the failures of our past, as a country, as a Church, or as an individual is never easy. Our struggle to heal the wounds of decades of violence, injury and painful memory in Northern Ireland are more than ample evidence of this.
There is always tension between the possibilities we aspire to and our wounded memories and past mistakes. Saint Patrick, our national Apostle, our patron Saint, knew this tension throughout his life. Even as he brought the joy and life of the Gospel to the Irish people, he was haunted by the sins of his past. We recall the famous opening words of his Confession: 'I, Patrick, a sinner, and the least of all the faithful'.
In today's Gospel, Saint Peter wrestled with his own sinfulness while still answering Jesus' call to become a fisher of men. Jesus calls Peter to 'put out into the deep'. Peter responds: 'Leave me Lord, I am a sinful man.' We all experience this tension between being called to follow Jesus - to live up to his values - and the reality of our sinful nature. There is true freedom in humbly acknowledging - like the wounded healers Peter and Patrick - the full truth of our sinfulness.
This week a painful episode from my own past has come before me. I have listened to reaction from people to my role in events thirty five years ago. I want to say to anyone who has been hurt by any failure on my part that I apologise to you with all my heart. I also apologise to all those who feel I have let them down. Looking back I am ashamed that I have not always upheld the values that I profess and believe in.
These are momentous times for the Church in Ireland. I believe the two years leading up to the Fiftieth International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin will be among the most critical for us since the time of St. Patrick. I deeply believe that God is calling us to a new beginning, to a time of Patrician energy, reform and renewal. I look forward to the Pastoral Letter of Pope Benedict XVI to the Faithful of Ireland as one important source for this renewal.
The Gospel we have just read, and the life of St. Patrick, also offers us some principles for this renewal. Firstly, renewal begins with a sincere, prayerful listening to the Word of God. We have just heard how the crowds pressed around Jesus, hungry for his Word - the Word of life itself.
Secondly, we need to listen to the Spirit as the source of our renewal. St. Patrick heard the Spirit's call in the 'voice of the Irish'. As we search for the voice of the Spirit in our time, the Irish faithful must be involved more effectively within the Church.
Finally, we must humbly continue to deal with the enormity of the hurt caused by abuse of children by some clergy and religious and the hopelessly inadequate response to that abuse in the past.
I believe the period up to the Eucharistic Congress has to involve a sincere, wholehearted and truthful acknowledgement of our sinfulness. Like St. Patrick, like St. Peter, we as Bishops, successors of the Apostles in the Irish Church today must acknowledge our failings. The integrity of our witness to the Gospel challenges us to own up to and take responsibility for any mismanagement or cover-up of child abuse. For the sake of survivors, for the sake of all the Catholic faithful as well as the religious and priests of this country, we have to stop the drip, drip, drip of revelations of failure.
The Lord is calling us to a new beginning. None of us knows where that new beginning will lead. Does it allow for wounded healers, those who have made mistakes in their past to have a part in shaping the future? This is a time for deep prayer and much reflection. Be certain that I will be reflecting carefully as we enter into Holy Week, Easter and Pentecost. I will use this time to pray, to reflect on the Word of God and to discern the will of the Holy Spirit. I will reflect on what I have heard from those who have been hurt by abuse. I will also talk to people, priests, religious and to those I know and love. Pray for those who have been hurt. Pray for the Church. Pray for me.
Pope Benedict apologized for child sexual abuse in the Irish Catholic Church (March 2010)
PASTORAL LETTER
OF THE HOLY FATHER
POPE BENEDICT XVI
TO THE CATHOLICS OF IRELAND
1. Dear Brothers and Sisters of the Church in Ireland, it is with great concern that I write to you as Pastor of the universal Church. Like yourselves, I have been deeply disturbed by the information which has come to light regarding the abuse of children and vulnerable young people by members of the Church in Ireland, particularly by priests and religious. I can only share in the dismay and the sense of betrayal that so many of you have experienced on learning of these sinful and criminal acts and the way Church authorities in Ireland dealt with them.
As you know, I recently invited the Irish bishops to a meeting here in Rome to give an account of their handling of these matters in the past and to outline the steps they have taken to respond to this grave situation. Together with senior officials of the Roman Curia, I listened to what they had to say, both individually and as a group, as they offered an analysis of mistakes made and lessons learned, and a description of the programmes and protocols now in place. Our discussions were frank and constructive. I am confident that, as a result, the bishops will now be in a stronger position to carry forward the work of repairing past injustices and confronting the broader issues associated with the abuse of minors in a way consonant with the demands of justice and the teachings of the Gospel.
2. For my part, considering the gravity of these offences, and the often inadequate response to them on the part of the ecclesiastical authorities in your country, I have decided to write this Pastoral Letter to express my closeness to you and to propose a path of healing, renewal and reparation.
It is true, as many in your country have pointed out, that the problem of child abuse is peculiar neither to Ireland nor to the Church. Nevertheless, the task you now face is to address the problem of abuse that has occurred within the Irish Catholic community, and to do so with courage and determination. No one imagines that this painful situation will be resolved swiftly. Real progress has been made, yet much more remains to be done. Perseverance and prayer are needed, with great trust in the healing power of God’s grace.
At the same time, I must also express my conviction that, in order to recover from this grievous wound, the Church in Ireland must first acknowledge before the Lord and before others the serious sins committed against defenceless children. Such an acknowledgement, accompanied by sincere sorrow for the damage caused to these victims and their families, must lead to a concerted effort to ensure the protection of children from similar crimes in the future.
As you take up the challenges of this hour, I ask you to remember “the rock from which you were hewn” (Is 51:1). Reflect upon the generous, often heroic, contributions made by past generations of Irish men and women to the Church and to humanity as a whole, and let this provide the impetus for honest self-examination and a committed programme of ecclesial and individual renewal. It is my prayer that, assisted by the intercession of her many saints and purified through penance, the Church in Ireland will overcome the present crisis and become once more a convincing witness to the truth and the goodness of Almighty God, made manifest in his Son Jesus Christ.
3. Historically, the Catholics of Ireland have proved an enormous force for good at home and abroad. Celtic monks like Saint Columbanus spread the Gospel in Western Europe and laid the foundations of medieval monastic culture. The ideals of holiness, charity and transcendent wisdom born of the Christian faith found expression in the building of churches and monasteries and the establishment of schools, libraries and hospitals, all of which helped to consolidate the spiritual identity of Europe. Those Irish missionaries drew their strength and inspiration from the firm faith, strong leadership and upright morals of the Church in their native land.
From the sixteenth century on, Catholics in Ireland endured a long period of persecution, during which they struggled to keep the flame of faith alive in dangerous and difficult circumstances. Saint Oliver Plunkett, the martyred Archbishop of Armagh, is the most famous example of a host of courageous sons and daughters of Ireland who were willing to lay down their lives out of fidelity to the Gospel. After Catholic Emancipation, the Church was free to grow once more. Families and countless individuals who had preserved the faith in times of trial became the catalyst for the great resurgence of Irish Catholicism in the nineteenth century. The Church provided education, especially for the poor, and this was to make a major contribution to Irish society. Among the fruits of the new Catholic schools was a rise in vocations: generations of missionary priests, sisters and brothers left their homeland to serve in every continent, especially in the English-speaking world. They were remarkable not only for their great numbers, but for the strength of their faith and the steadfastness of their pastoral commitment. Many dioceses, especially in Africa, America and Australia, benefited from the presence of Irish clergy and religious who preached the Gospel and established parishes, schools and universities, clinics and hospitals that served both Catholics and the community at large, with particular attention to the needs of the poor.
In almost every family in Ireland, there has been someone – a son or a daughter, an aunt or an uncle – who has given his or her life to the Church. Irish families rightly esteem and cherish their loved ones who have dedicated their lives to Christ, sharing the gift of faith with others, and putting that faith into action in loving service of God and neighbour.
4. 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.
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.
5. On several occasions since my election to the See of Peter, I have met with victims of sexual abuse, as indeed I am ready to do in the future. I have sat with them, I have listened to their stories, I have acknowledged their suffering, and I have prayed with them and for them. Earlier in my pontificate, in my concern to address this matter, I asked the bishops of Ireland, “to establish the truth of what happened in the past, to take whatever steps are necessary to prevent it from occurring again, to ensure that the principles of justice are fully respected, and above all, to bring healing to the victims and to all those affected by these egregious crimes” (Address to the Bishops of Ireland, 28 October 2006).
With this Letter, I wish to exhort all of you, as God’s people in Ireland, to reflect on the wounds inflicted on Christ’s body, the sometimes painful remedies needed to bind and heal them, and the need for unity, charity and mutual support in the long-term process of restoration and ecclesial renewal. I now turn to you with words that come from my heart, and I wish to speak to each of you individually and to all of you as brothers and sisters in the Lord.
6. To the victims of abuse and their families
You have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry. I know that nothing can undo the wrong you have endured. Your trust has been betrayed and your dignity has been violated. Many of you found that, when you were courageous enough to speak of what happened to you, no one would listen. Those of you who were abused in residential institutions must have felt that there was no escape from your sufferings. It is understandable that you find it hard to forgive or be reconciled with the Church. In her name, I openly express the shame and remorse that we all feel. At the same time, I ask you not to lose hope. It is in the communion of the Church that we encounter the person of Jesus Christ, who was himself a victim of injustice and sin. Like you, he still bears the wounds of his own unjust suffering. He understands the depths of your pain and its enduring effect upon your lives and your relationships, including your relationship with the Church. I know some of you find it difficult even to enter the doors of a church after all that has occurred. Yet Christ’s own wounds, transformed by his redemptive sufferings, are the very means by which the power of evil is broken and we are reborn to life and hope. I believe deeply in the healing power of his self-sacrificing love – even in the darkest and most hopeless situations – to bring liberation and the promise of a new beginning.
Speaking to you as a pastor concerned for the good of all God’s children, I humbly ask you to consider what I have said. I pray that, by drawing nearer to Christ and by participating in the life of his Church – a Church purified by penance and renewed in pastoral charity – you will come to rediscover Christ’s infinite love for each one of you. I am confident that in this way you will be able to find reconciliation, deep inner healing and peace.
7. To priests and religious who have abused children
You betrayed the trust that was placed in you by innocent young people and their parents, and you must answer for it before Almighty God and before properly constituted tribunals. You have forfeited the esteem of the people of Ireland and brought shame and dishonour upon your confreres. Those of you who are priests violated the sanctity of the sacrament of Holy Orders in which Christ makes himself present in us and in our actions. Together with the immense harm done to victims, great damage has been done to the Church and to the public perception of the priesthood and religious life.
I urge you to examine your conscience, take responsibility for the sins you have committed, and humbly express your sorrow. Sincere repentance opens the door to God’s forgiveness and the grace of true amendment. By offering prayers and penances for those you have wronged, you should seek to atone personally for your actions. Christ’s redeeming sacrifice has the power to forgive even the gravest of sins, and to bring forth good from even the most terrible evil. At the same time, God’s justice summons us to give an account of our actions and to conceal nothing. Openly acknowledge your guilt, submit yourselves to the demands of justice, but do not despair of God’s mercy.
8. To parents
You have been deeply shocked to learn of the terrible things that took place in what ought to be the safest and most secure environment of all. In today’s world it is not easy to build a home and to bring up children. They deserve to grow up in security, loved and cherished, with a strong sense of their identity and worth. They have a right to be educated in authentic moral values rooted in the dignity of the human person, to be inspired by the truth of our Catholic faith and to learn ways of behaving and acting that lead to healthy self-esteem and lasting happiness. This noble but demanding task is entrusted in the first place to you, their parents. I urge you to play your part in ensuring the best possible care of children, both at home and in society as a whole, while the Church, for her part, continues to implement the measures adopted in recent years to protect young people in parish and school environments. As you carry out your vital responsibilities, be assured that I remain close to you and I offer you the support of my prayers.
9. To the children and young people of Ireland
I wish to offer you a particular word of encouragement. Your experience of the Church is very different from that of your parents and grandparents. The world has changed greatly since they were your age. Yet all people, in every generation, are called to travel the same path through life, whatever their circumstances may be. We are all scandalized by the sins and failures of some of the Church's members, particularly those who were chosen especially to guide and serve young people. But it is in the Church that you will find Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today and for ever (cf. Heb 13:8). He loves you and he has offered himself on the cross for you. Seek a personal relationship with him within the communion of his Church, for he will never betray your trust! He alone can satisfy your deepest longings and give your lives their fullest meaning by directing them to the service of others. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and his goodness, and shelter the flame of faith in your heart. Together with your fellow Catholics in Ireland, I look to you to be faithful disciples of our Lord and to bring your much-needed enthusiasm and idealism to the rebuilding and renewal of our beloved Church.
10. To the priests and religious of Ireland
All of us are suffering as a result of the sins of our confreres who betrayed a sacred trust or failed to deal justly and responsibly with allegations of abuse. In view of the outrage and indignation which this has provoked, not only among the lay faithful but among yourselves and your religious communities, many of you feel personally discouraged, even abandoned. I am also aware that in some people’s eyes you are tainted by association, and viewed as if you were somehow responsible for the misdeeds of others. At this painful time, I want to acknowledge the dedication of your priestly and religious lives and apostolates, and I invite you to reaffirm your faith in Christ, your love of his Church and your confidence in the Gospel's promise of redemption, forgiveness and interior renewal. In this way, you will demonstrate for all to see that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more (cf. Rom 5:20).
I know that many of you are disappointed, bewildered and angered by the way these matters have been handled by some of your superiors. Yet, it is essential that you cooperate closely with those in authority and help to ensure that the measures adopted to respond to the crisis will be truly evangelical, just and effective. Above all, I urge you to become ever more clearly men and women of prayer, courageously following the path of conversion, purification and reconciliation. In this way, the Church in Ireland will draw new life and vitality from your witness to the Lord's redeeming power made visible in your lives.
11. To my brother bishops
It cannot be denied that some of you and your predecessors failed, at times grievously, to apply the long-established norms of canon law to the crime of child abuse. Serious mistakes were made in responding to allegations. I recognize how difficult it was to grasp the extent and complexity of the problem, to obtain reliable information and to make the right decisions in the light of conflicting expert advice. Nevertheless, it must be admitted that grave errors of judgement were made and failures of leadership occurred. All this has seriously undermined your credibility and effectiveness. I appreciate the efforts you have made to remedy past mistakes and to guarantee that they do not happen again. Besides fully implementing the norms of canon law in addressing cases of child abuse, continue to cooperate with the civil authorities in their area of competence. Clearly, religious superiors should do likewise. They too have taken part in recent discussions here in Rome with a view to establishing a clear and consistent approach to these matters. It is imperative that the child safety norms of the Church in Ireland be continually revised and updated and that they be applied fully and impartially in conformity with canon law.
Only decisive action carried out with complete honesty and transparency will restore the respect and good will of the Irish people towards the Church to which we have consecrated our lives. This must arise, first and foremost, from your own self-examination, inner purification and spiritual renewal. The Irish people rightly expect you to be men of God, to be holy, to live simply, to pursue personal conversion daily. For them, in the words of Saint Augustine, you are a bishop; yet with them you are called to be a follower of Christ (cf. Sermon 340, 1). I therefore exhort you to renew your sense of accountability before God, to grow in solidarity with your people and to deepen your pastoral concern for all the members of your flock. In particular, I ask you to be attentive to the spiritual and moral lives of each one of your priests. Set them an example by your own lives, be close to them, listen to their concerns, offer them encouragement at this difficult time and stir up the flame of their love for Christ and their commitment to the service of their brothers and sisters.
The lay faithful, too, should be encouraged to play their proper part in the life of the Church. See that they are formed in such a way that they can offer an articulate and convincing account of the Gospel in the midst of modern society (cf. 1 Pet 3:15) and cooperate more fully in the Church’s life and mission. This in turn will help you once again become credible leaders and witnesses to the redeeming truth of Christ.
12. To all the faithful of Ireland
A young person’s experience of the Church should always bear fruit in a personal and life-giving encounter with Jesus Christ within a loving, nourishing community. In this environment, young people should be encouraged to grow to their full human and spiritual stature, to aspire to high ideals of holiness, charity and truth, and to draw inspiration from the riches of a great religious and cultural tradition. In our increasingly secularized society, where even we Christians often find it difficult to speak of the transcendent dimension of our existence, we need to find new ways to pass on to young people the beauty and richness of friendship with Jesus Christ in the communion of his Church. In confronting the present crisis, measures to deal justly with individual crimes are essential, yet on their own they are not enough: a new vision is needed, to inspire present and future generations to treasure the gift of our common faith. By treading the path marked out by the Gospel, by observing the commandments and by conforming your lives ever more closely to the figure of Jesus Christ, you will surely experience the profound renewal that is so urgently needed at this time. I invite you all to persevere along this path.
13. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, it is out of deep concern for all of you at this painful time in which the fragility of the human condition has been so starkly revealed that I have wished to offer these words of encouragement and support. Ihope that you will receive them as a sign of my spiritual closeness and my confidence in your ability to respond to the challenges of the present hour by drawing renewed inspiration and strength from Ireland’s noble traditions of fidelity to the Gospel, perseverance in the faith and steadfastness in the pursuit of holiness.In solidarity with all of you, I am praying earnestly that, by God’s grace, the wounds afflicting so many individuals and families may be healed and that the Church in Ireland may experience a season of rebirth and spiritual renewal.
14. I now wish to propose to you some concrete initiatives to address the situation.
At the conclusion of my meeting with the Irish bishops, I asked that Lent this year be set aside as a time to pray for an outpouring of God’s mercy and the Holy Spirit’s gifts of holiness and strength upon the Church in your country. I now invite all of you to devote your Friday penances, for a period of one year, between now and Easter 2011, to this intention. I ask you to offer up your fasting, your prayer, your reading of Scripture and your works of mercy in order to obtain the grace of healing and renewal for the Church in Ireland. I encourage you to discover anew the sacrament of Reconciliation and to avail yourselves more frequently of the transforming power of its grace.
Particular attention should also be given to Eucharistic adoration, and in every diocese there should be churches or chapels specifically devoted to this purpose. I ask parishes, seminaries, religious houses and monasteries to organize periods of Eucharistic adoration, so that all have an opportunity to take part. Through intense prayer before the real presence of the Lord, you can make reparation for the sins of abuse that have done so much harm, at the same time imploring the grace of renewed strength and a deeper sense of mission on the part of all bishops, priests, religious and lay faithful.
I am confident that this programme will lead to a rebirth of the Church in Ireland in the fullness of God’s own truth, for it is the truth that sets us free (cf. Jn 8:32).
Furthermore, having consulted and prayed about the matter, I intend to hold an Apostolic Visitation of certain dioceses in Ireland, as well as seminaries and religious congregations. Arrangements for the Visitation, which is intended to assist the local Church on her path of renewal, will be made in cooperation with the competent offices of the Roman Curia and the Irish Episcopal Conference. The details will be announced in due course.
I also propose that a nationwide Mission be held for all bishops, priests and religious. It is my hope that, by drawing on the expertise of experienced preachers and retreat-givers from Ireland and from elsewhere, and by exploring anew the conciliar documents, the liturgical rites of ordination and profession, and recent pontifical teaching, you will come to a more profound appreciation of your respective vocations, so as to rediscover the roots of your faith in Jesus Christ and to drink deeply from the springs of living water that he offers you through his Church.
In this Year for Priests, I commend to you most particularly the figure of Saint John Mary Vianney, who had such a rich understanding of the mystery of the priesthood. “The priest”, he wrote, “holds the key to the treasures of heaven: it is he who opens the door: he is the steward of the good Lord; the administrator of his goods.” The Curé d’Ars understood well how greatly blessed a community is when served by a good and holy priest: “A good shepherd, a pastor after God’s heart, is the greatest treasure which the good Lord can grant to a parish, and one of the most precious gifts of divine mercy.” Through the intercession of Saint John Mary Vianney, may the priesthood in Ireland be revitalized, and may the whole Church in Ireland grow in appreciation for the great gift of the priestly ministry.
I take this opportunity to thank in anticipation all those who will be involved in the work of organizing the Apostolic Visitation and the Mission, as well as the many men and women throughout Ireland already working for the safety of children in church environments. Since the time when the gravity and extent of the problem of child sexual abuse in Catholic institutions first began to be fully grasped, the Church has done an immense amount of work in many parts of the world in order to address and remedy it. While no effort should be spared in improving and updating existing procedures, I am encouraged by the fact that the current safeguarding practices adopted by local Churches are being seen, in some parts of the world, as a model for other institutions to follow.
I wish to conclude this Letter with a special Prayer for the Church in Ireland, which I send to you with the care of a father for his children and with the affection of a fellow Christian, scandalized and hurt by what has occurred in our beloved Church. As you make use of this prayer in your families, parishes and communities, may the Blessed Virgin Mary protect and guide each of you to a closer union with her Son, crucified and risen. With great affection and unswerving confidence in God’s promises, I cordially impart to all of you my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of strength and peace in the Lord.
From the Vatican, 19 March 2010, on the Solemnity of Saint Joseph
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne issues apology for sexual abuse (July 2010)
My Dear People,
We are all painfully aware that our Church is now going through a terrible time of suffering and self-examination. The full extent of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and religious continues to emerge, not only here in Australia but throughout the world.
Once again, therefore, I express my deep sorrow and offer a sincere and unreserved apology to all those victims who have suffered the pain and humiliation of sexual abuse and to their families.
The scourge of sexual abuse continues to cause great distress and in many cases a crisis of faith amongst Catholics. Every week seems to bring fresh scandals, as victims of abuse speak publicly of what they and their families have suffered.
As your Archbishop, I want you to know that I share in your desolation and sense of betrayal. The criminal offences and breaches of vows committed by some priests and religious bring shame upon the entire Church. How can we Catholics not be shocked and shamed?
With great humility we acknowledge that the crimes of the perpetrators have done great harm. We recognize that in the past we have not always dealt appropriately with offenders. We have had to learn from our mistakes, and continue to do so.
For me personally, this is one of the saddest times of my 43 years in the Catholic priesthood.
Sexual abuse in any form, and any attempt to conceal it, is a grave evil and is totally unacceptable. As Christ’s Church we must face up to the truth of these revelations and not attempt to disguise, diminish or avoid in any way the actions of priests and religious who have betrayed their sacred trust.
Although it has been said that the incidence of Catholic priests abusing their office in this criminal manner is no greater than that which occurs amongst professional classes in the wider community, the community quite rightly expects a higher standard of morality for clergy. Sexual crimes committed by clergy involve not only criminality but also hypocrisy and the betrayal of their sacred office and of those who trust them.
The public is rightly concerned about the way in which Church authorities have responded to complaints and proven offences, especially where those involved are under age. For this reason you may find it helpful for me to describe what we are doing in the Melbourne Archdiocese. In 1996, we introduced the Melbourne Response as the most compassionate way of caring for victims.
In the past 14 years, about 300 people have been compensated as victims of sexual abuse within the Archdiocese. Most of the complaints relate to incidents from thirty and up to eighty years ago. We receive few complaints of abuse that has taken place since the 1970s.
We have sought to do everything in our power to bring these victims aid, consolation and, if possible, reconciliation with the Church. They have been given access to compensation, on-going counselling and medical support.
Victims have had the unfettered ability to take their complaint to the Victoria Police. Indeed, they are encouraged to do so. We do understand, however, that not all victims want to go to the Police. Nor do all complaints involve criminal offences that the Police can investigate.
Of the victims to whom compensation offers have been made in accordance with the Melbourne Response, five have not yet accepted them. Eighty-six offenders have been identified over an eighty year period, of whom sixty were priests of the Archdiocese. Thirty-five of those priests are now deceased.
I have acted in accordance with every recommendation of the Independent Commissioner under the Melbourne Response in relation to the remainder.
Of course, as a Church we must do more than provide justice to the victims of past sexual abuse. We must also work to prevent future abuse. Since 1996, we have introduced procedures to protect parishioners and children against sexual abuse, and processes have been developed and applied to deal with offending clergy. We ensure that there is rigorous screening of all people who aspire to the priesthood, and seminarians are required to undertake study of the Church’s code of conduct for priests and religious on integrity in ministry.
We cannot completely set right the wrongs of the past or take away the anguish of victims of abuse and their families. Nevertheless I believe that the Melbourne Response goes a long way towards addressing compassionately the issue of sexual abuse in the Melbourne Archdiocese.
I know that some of you will feel estranged or disaffected from the Church as the result of the current scandals. I can only invite you to reflect upon the vast majority of our upright and generous priests and religious who dedicate themselves to the care and pastoral needs of their people and the decent and dedicated Catholics whose selfless work in the interests of children, the sick and the underprivileged daily speaks of a generous faith and of a faithful Church.
In this regard it may help you to know that institutionally, Catholic education, health and social welfare organisations make a vital contribution to the Victorian community. At present in Victoria there are 385 Catholic Primary Schools, 95 Secondary Schools and 9 Special Schools.
We have 11 Hospitals, 63 Aged Care residential facilities and 16 Children’s Welfare facilities.
In my reflections on the sexual abuse crisis, I have been much encouraged by Pope Benedict XVI who has never shirked the issue, and has been at great pains to apologise to victims.
At World Youth Day 2008, Pope Benedict said in Sydney:
“I would like to pause to acknowledge the shame which we have all felt as a result of the sexual abuse of minors by some clergy and religious in this country.
“Indeed I am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the victims have endured and I assure them that, as their Pastor, I too share in their suffering.
“These misdeeds, which constitute so grave a betrayal of trust, deserve unequivocal condemnation. They have caused great pain and have damaged the Church’s witness.
“I ask all of you to support and assist your bishops, and to work together with them in combating this evil. Victims should receive compassion and care, and those responsible for these evils must be brought to justice.
“As the church in Australia continues, in the spirit of the gospel, to address effectively this serious pastoral challenge, I join you in praying that this time of purification will bring about healing, reconciliation and ever-greater fidelity to the moral demands of the gospel.”
The Pope wrote in a similar vein in his pastoral letter to Irish victims of abuse and their families:
“You have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry. I know that nothing can undo the wrong you have endured. Your trust has been betrayed and your dignity has been violated. Many of you found that, when you were courageous enough to speak of what happened to you, no one would listen.”
The Pope has more recently described the sex abuse scandals as “a terrifying crisis” that comes from inside the Church – not from outside – and which requires purification and penance if it is to be overcome.
He has pledged that the Church will do “all in its power to investigate allegations, to bring justice to those responsible for abuse and to implement effective measures designed to safeguard young people in the future”.
In the Melbourne Archdiocese, we can draw encouragement from the Pope’s words.
In 1996, the Terms and Conditions of the Melbourne Response were formulated in consultation with Victoria Police. We are currently discussing with the Police how best we can continue to facilitate co-operation and assistance between the Archdiocese and the Police.
To those of you who cry out with Jesus from the cross, “Why have you abandoned me?”, I re-dedicate myself and the Archdiocese to serve and care pastorally for all of the Church’s people and the protection of all of its children.
At a time when our faith is sorely tested, let us remember together God’s word:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1).
Yours sincerely in Christ
+ Denis J. Hart,
Archbishop of Melbourne
Department of Psychology
University of Waterloo
200 University Avenue West
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
519 888 4567
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