Pope Benedict's Response to the Sexual Abuse of Minors
by Fr. Roger J. Landry - May 16, 2008
A recent Marist college poll of Americans' reactions to Pope Benedict's visit revealed that by a wide margin the "most meaningful" part of the papal pilgrimage was not the huge Masses at Nationals Park or Yankees Stadium, the reception at the White House, the speech at the United Nations, the meetings with the bishops, Catholic educators, ecumenical leaders, or inter-religious heads. None of these even drew ten percent. It was not even his moving visit to Ground Zero, which 14 percent described as the "most meaningful" moment. 39 percent of respondents said that the part of the pilgrimage that had the most meaning for them was an event totally off-camera, with no advanced publicity and no prepared speech: Pope Benedict's meeting with the five clergy sexual abuse survivors from the Archdiocese of Boston accompanied by Cardinal Sean O'Malley.
To the American bishops the day before, the pope had said, "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." In his encounter with these survivors, the Pope was showing the bishops and the whole Church how this is done. He was also showing these five survivors, and through them the thousands in America who have received abuse rather than love from those ordained to serve them, that above all he was a pastor with a special love for those in his flock who were wounded and wronged. He listened to their stories one-by-one, he prayed with them, he expressed his deep sorrow and entered into their immense suffering. At no other time during his pilgrimage was he more powerfully the vicar of Jesus Christ.
Prior to his visit, many in the media were wondering whether he would address the situation of the crisis in the Church due to the sexual abuse of minors. Those who knew him well knew that there was no way he would not address it, because he has never been one to duck a difficult issue. Few, though, anticipated that he would address it on so many levels on so many occasions. Just as by his meeting with the survivors, he was setting an example to follow, so in his speeches he was indicating what the reaction of the Catholic Church in America to the scandals needs to be, so that the Church can experience the new Pentecost he had come to our country to try to occasion.
The first and most natural reaction was shame. Shame is far more than embarrassment; it is a deep, almost constitutive, remorse that a person wishing to be honorable experiences when linked to dishonor. Many American Catholics have experienced this shame over the last six years. Benedict could not help from letting Americans know that he had, too. On the plane coming to the United States, he said he was "ashamed" that this could happen in the Church, and that it was a cause of "great suffering" for him "personally." To the bishops, he reiterated his "deep shame" and called it a "countersign" to the Gospel that "clerics have betrayed their obligations and duties by such gravely immoral behavior." There is always a positive aspect of shame, insofar as it not only puts into relief the good that was absent, but motivates those who are honorable to remedy the dishonorable situations. That's why in the same sentence in which Benedict said, "I am ashamed," he added, "and we will do everything possible to ensure that this does not happen again in the future."
The second reaction that the Church in America needs to take to achieve the good that was absent in many places while the abuse was occurring and coming to light is the priority of pastoral care for those who have suffered abuse. At the Mass at Nationals Park, Benedict said, "No words of mine could describe the pain and harm inflicted by such abuse. It is important that those who have suffered be given loving pastoral attention." To the bishops, he said that "priority" must be given to "showing compassion and care to the victims" and added, in succinct but strong words, that some of them had done this "very badly." But he also said that the pastoral care that needs to be given to those who have been wounded and wronged is not the sole responsibility of the bishops, the clergy, or those in diocesan offices. "I encourage each of you," he said to the 40,000 lay people at Nationals Park, "to do what you can to foster healing and reconciliation, and to assist those who have been hurt." Each of us has a part to play. In this loving response to those who have experienced so much pain, Benedict said, the Church can "bear great fruit … for all of society" since "this scourge is found not only within your Dioceses, but in every sector of society."
The third Catholic reaction should be to recognize that to fight effectively against the sin of the sexual abuse of minors, we must address its root causes, which include, but go far beyond, what happens in seminaries, parishes and chanceries. We have to address the culture in which children are exposed to all types of sexual exploitation. "What does it mean to speak of child protection," Benedict asked the bishops, "when pornography and violence can be viewed in so many homes through media widely available today?" Programs to eliminate the sexual abuse of children by clergy or by adults is not sufficient, for so many young people are abused by their fellow young people, whether consensually or not, and so many others are allowed to become precocious sex addicts through pornography. Benedict says, "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 … 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." Benedict himself tried to lead the way on this, as well, in his address to the young at Dunwoodie.
The final Catholic reaction he directed toward bishops and priests. He said that it's not enough "absolutely to exclude pedophiles from sacred ministry," both prior to ordination and after. Priests and bishops need to live up to the "holy orders" they have received. To the bishops he said, "If you yourselves live in a manner closely configured to Christ, the Good Shepherd, who laid down his life for his sheep, you will inspire your brother priests to rededicate themselves to the service of their flocks with Christ-like generosity. Indeed a clearer focus upon the imitation of Christ in holiness of life is exactly what is needed in order for us to move forward." He stated emphatically, "It is more important to have good priests than to have many priests." The good that the Lord wants to draw out of this evil chapter in the history of the Church in America, he said quoting Pope John Paul II, is a purification that will lead to "a holier priesthood, a holier episcopate and a holier Church." During the last six years, he added approvingly, "there are many signs that such purification has indeed been taking place," and he pointed to the cause: "Christ's abiding presence in the midst of our suffering is gradually transforming our darkness into light: all things are indeed being made new in Christ Jesus our hope."
During his pilgrimage, Pope Benedict showed himself to be a true ambassador of that Light and Hope.
Father Roger J. Landry is pastor of St. Anthony of Padua in New Bedford, MA and Executive Editor of The Anchor, the weekly newspaper of the Diocese of Fall River.
