VIRGINIA
Arlington Catholic Herald
By Bishop Paul S. Loverde
Special to the Herald
(From the issue of 12/16/04)
The fourth in a five-part series on Advent, Bishop Loverde considers how forgiveness in the Church is integral to the Church’s preparation for Christ this Christmas. In this column, Bishop Loverde considers forgiveness in the Church. In next week’s Christmas issue, Bishop Loverde will write on welcoming Christ anew this Christmas. The complete series is available online at www.catholicherald.com
With Christmas just around the corner, we continue to prepare our hearts for the Lord Jesus by considering how forgiveness might remove the obstacles to His love. In last week’s reflection on the family, I pointed out that forgiveness in our parish begins in the home and that forgiveness in the universal Church begins in the "domestic Churches" of our homes.
The Church is, after all, our family of faith, and the same lessons apply. Just as we need to give and receive forgiveness within the family circle, so that same need also exists within the Church family. As we know painfully well from the past few years, this can be very difficult, especially when those in need of forgiveness are those whom we hold to a higher standard — those who hold positions of authority or responsibility in the Church and act in the name of the Church, including bishops, priests, deacons, religious brothers and religious sisters, Church employees and volunteers.
Yes, God calls each of us to holiness, but experience demonstrates that we often fail to respond to His call, instead acting in ways that are not Christ-like. Although we who represent the Church try to be Christ for others, we too are human and prone to sin. In fact, we do sin. Sometimes, this sin manifests itself in small ways, like impatience with others or lack of charity in thoughts or words or actions.
Tragically, sin is manifested in more serious ways, including the violation of the solemn commitment which bishops, priests, deacons and religious men and women make as they embark on their service to the members of the Church.
The abuse of minors and young people by some clergy and religious in past decades has profoundly scarred not only the victims and their families, but indeed to some degree, all the members of the Church. The experience of victims is beyond human words to describe adequately. In the Church, we are all connected, one to the other; we all have struggled with a range of emotions, including hurt, betrayal, anger, despair, rage and even the desire for revenge.
Posted by kshaw at December 15, 2004 05:58 PM