AmericanPapist Comments
I think that this is good, but I also think it is bad for perhaps many of the reasons that such a meeting like this has occurred before.
The biggest problem I see is that the entire thing is based off of a vast exagerration of the importance or the role of the pope. I think Mark Shea explained this pretty well yesterday on his blog. The pope is not like the CEO of a company or something. It's not really in his authority to deal with this sort of thing on a universal level.
That sortof leads into and builds upon the other issue, namely, why were these three victims given the opportunity to meet with the pope but the other thousands weren't? No pope could possibly hope to meet with the thousands and thousands of victims, and I think in a real sense its unfair to the victims who do not have this opportunity. It is the bishops of the individual dioceses' who ought to be having these sorts of meetings. I understand that for many of the victims, this is not good enough and they want to meet with the pope, and that's where these two points tie together. It's not the role of the pope to do this sort of thing on so micro a level and it's not humanly possible.
I recognize the pastoral spirit of a meeting like this, and it is very obvious that it helped those victims who did meet with him. He's trying to show he cares, and even if it's not formally his role, it's helping these victims due to their misunderstanding of his role. In fact, even if they didn't expect this of the pope, it would still be a wonderful act of pastoral compassion and love.
At the same time, I see it as reinforcing those misunderstandings that have caused so much pain and so much trouble for these past 8 years, and I think that in all likelihood, this is not a good thing. Mr. Horne made a statement during the interview that he now has been shown that there is care and that things are being done, but he can only speak for himself. I think this really speaks well to the problem I see. In all likelihood, the answers that Mr. Horne and the other abuse victims said were so appreciated and showed them that things are changing are not answers that are any different today than they were years ago. The Church has been doing something about the problem for years. Now these victims recognize that because the pope himself has expressed it, but I don't know if the other thousands of victims will feel the same way. These people got to hear that X Y and Z is happening from pope Benedict, but X Y and Z was happening long before he told them. They feel better because he met with them and told them.
I understand this entirely, but I just don't know if its necessarily good when viewed in the broader context. Perhaps I am wrong and this will make progress amongst those suffering. I sense that it will in some part, but that in the larger part it will only lead to more people being angry at the pope for meeting with these folks but not them. I also reco
I also recognize these victims as people in deep need of healing, and I don't know if they're going to be able to get that healing. Society and the news media has created the perception that only something like this meeting can really bring healing. Those fortunate enough to meet with the pope may be able to experience this. I don't know how many of the others will.
I would prefer some more... I really don't have solutions. I think what is needed is some means by which these people can recognize the reality of all the stuff that Pope Benedict told those he met with without having to meet with him, because they probably aren't going to be able to. Unfortunately for them, I don't know how this will happen. Also unfortunately for them, I think a large part of it has nothing to do with what the Church is or has done to improve things, but with getting to meet with the pope. Even if the perception of his role is incorrect, it still exists, and so many of these people will not be able to begin to heal until they are able to have such a meeting with the pope.
It's obviously a very cloudy and difficult issue. There are so many people in great suffering here, and even acts of healing like this one seem to be laden with negatives. Quite a sad situation indeed.
To have the courage to face the one who abused you is a lifegiving and grace filled moment. Papa did not abuse these people, but his church did. The Lord in heaven must have been very please with this gesture of compassion and love.
Papa is showing his bishops the way.
He is not asking them to do anything he is not willing to do himself. How can they not follow his lead now? He is showing them how to be a loving father. He is showing all Catholics how to love.
Viva il Papa!!
Elm,
Very good comments. However, I think it is incorrect to say that the Church abused anyone. (I'm sure that it isn't in your mind to say that the Church has abused people, but rather that the members have. Nevertheless, allow me to clarify for others.) Just as blaming a Mother for the sins of her adult children is incorrect, so too it is incorrect to say that the Church has abused people. Some of Her children, unfortunately have.The Church herself, (as in the Body of Christ under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, with Christ as her Head) has not abused anyone, since she always teaches the faithful to practice their faith, and has not ever sent out a command to rape, rob, torture, or murder anyone.
It might seem like a small distinction, but it is, I think, an important one.
Shane,
You're guessing wrong, as far as I'm concerned. Pretty much across the board, but you're doing it kindly so no hard feelings.. For Pope Benedict to express his sorrow repeatedly throughout his visit and without prompting, confirms my long-tentative hopes that he takes this issue seriously. Of course I would wanted to have been one of those who met with him, but I'm crying for joy all day today.
I'm sorry if Mark Shea doesn't think this is part of the pope's job, to bind up our wounds and lead those gone astray back to safety-I didn't read his blog. I stopped reading him a while ago (but I don't remember why) and I just can't read them all.
Some of Her members did this and the Pope is especially doing something about it and has been for years. Many bishops were and are not teaching and upholding the Church's teaching on sexual morality. That was and is the problem. The shepherds and priests were not following or teaching according to the Church. If a married couple can 'follow' their conscience and contracept and abort, so too can a priest break his vow of celibacy. Planned Parenthood always tells kids in its child abuse 'prevention' programs that the kids should say no if it becomes uncomfortable for them. In other words, if they want, the child should go ahead and allow the abuse to continue if it pleases the child. Relativism!
Shane,
You are way, way off base. And David B., you are incorrect in claiming that the "Church" did not abuse anyone.
(I gave up on Mark Shea years ago after he banned me and others for comments he disagreeing with him in his comments box, so I don't know what he said.)
The pope in meeting with the victims was sending a clear signal that he really cares, he really is ashamed and disgusted. He's putting out the message that he intends to do more. We'll see about that in time. It's absurd to think the pope could or would meet with thousands of victims.
The pope is much MORE than "a CEO of a company or something." Anyone who knows how to read can figure this out by reading a few pages on Canon Law.
The pope personally names EVERY SINGLE BISHOP, according to the press releases the Vatican issues EVERY SINGLE time a bishop is named. Each and every one of those bishops pledges allegience and obedience to the pope. The pope has the de facto authority to slap down any bishop or priest at any time, but rarely ever does so, to his shame.
Only last year Cardinal Maida said he removed Bishop Gumbleton from his parish at the insistence of the pope.
Shane, make no mistake about it, the Catholic Church for decades had a policy of refusing to remove known pedophile priests from ministry, and no less than high-ranking cardinals themselves (let's give some of these criminals names: Law, Maida, Mahoney, Bevilacqua) told absolutely stunning lies publicly that were DESIGNED to deceive the laity about the threat of specific KNOWN pedophiles. These cardinals and bishops are not independent figures, they are top officials in the Church.
The Vatican went along with this deceit for decades, and stopped it ONLY due to the media and hundreds of county prosecutors who collectively were forced to take action, by the media.
You all should know that for many, many years, well into the 1990s the U.S. bishops went into "executive session" or "closed meetings" in their annual meetings to discuss the sex scandals. We now know that they were conspiring even then to try to put a lid on the scandals. We also know some of what they were doing was flat-out illegal.
The tragic thing here is that so many people are trying to figure out how to excuse the Vatican and the pope for this mess, and even more tragic is the idea that the it was only a "small number" of priests who were involved.
The problem was due to a LARGE number of lying, conniving bishops. Most of these bishops are STILL in office!
In Detroit some of the chancery officials who were responsible are now being elevated to the rank of bishop, with their own dioceses!
How sick is that?
I'm very happy that Pope Benedict has come to America and expressed his shame over the sex abuse done to children by priests. It is long overdo, but after all these years of coverup, the Pope has finally acknowledged the terrible sin and apologized to the victims. Every Bishop and priest involved should be fired! I believe in forgiveness, however, just like any other child sex offense, the offender must never have access to children again.
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