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Pope Benedict's apology: Is it sufficient?
Dear Friends,
As you may know by the time you read this email, Pope Benedict has issued an apology to the victims of sexual abuse. Listening to the audio, I do pick up that it is a personally heartfelt expression of sorrow compassion and apology. He is seeking to identify with their pain. I think we can all appreciate that. At the same time I don't think he yet "get's it". As others have written in recent days, including the editorial writer for The Age newspaper, increasingly the ground was cut from under him in recent days by the responses of Cardinal Pell and Bishop Anthony Fisher. Their gaffs of recent days were of such magnitude that they were bound to make any words of His Holiness sound hollow unless they were accompanied by other significant signs and gestures. That is how it has turned out. Even before I heard any of the responses from vicitms and those representing them this morning, I wrote on our forum:
He does say we need to reconcile. As many in recent days have been saying an apology is beginning to sound hollow these days in the light of the recent treatment of Andrew Jones and Anthony and Christine Foster in public statements by Cardinal Pell and Bishop Anthony Fisher. Anthony Foster has himself argued that an apology is not enough. It's easy to give homilies from a pulpit or podium — talking down at the people. Benedict, you need to sit there and let Anthony and Christine Foster look you in the eye, Anthony Jones look you in the eye, as they tell you their stories. It is a symbolic act. You sitting there symbolically representing the abusing priests and all of us who represent the institution and in whose name those priests did their abusing under. The Fosters, the Jones, or other chosen representatives of the abused, as the people who symbolically represent all those who have been abused by the institution. The ultimate objective has to be one of bringing reconciliation — equilibrium — back into the hearts of these people. You have to direct the likes of Pell, and all the other Church leaders who think like that, to STOP the games with lawyers trying to limit the damage to the institution the effect of which continually re-abuses the victims. Our aim as an institution has to be true reconciliation — bringing these people as quickly as possible, and as close as possible, back to a point of emotional, physical, mental and spiritual equilbrium where they can truly put whatever the transgression was behind them and where they can start their life from a fresh starting point. The games of pretending that the Church, or its priests and bishops, never make mistakes has to be brought to an end.
We Catholics are supposed to be the masters of "symbol and sign". We are supposed to be the experts in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. For God's sake, if not the sake of the victims, let us show it. We implore our ecclesial leaders to give leadership in this matter.
Today's lead commentary see's a very welcome return of Dr Ian Elmer to our lead commentary pages. Ian's area of scholarly expertise is in the study of St Paul and he writes a short but information-packed commentary to draw our attention to the contradictions of St Paul as we enter this year of study into this early great leader of the Church. Given the trouble our present day ecclesial leaders are in, we might ponder whether in their attempts to act "in persona Christi" have they not deified themselves and begun to think of themselves as infallible — incapable of wrong-doing, transgression and error? Perhaps they, and all of us, need reminding that while Jesus remains the model of who we strive to be, it is is individuals like Peter and Paul, the founding fathers of the Church, who remind us of our imperfection and our constant need to be reconciling ourselves with our neightbours and those whom we trespass against? <Click here to read Dr Elmer's commentary>
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