Archbishop Tlhagale Makes a Major Statement on Priest Abuse, Southern African Bishops' Conference, April 7, 2010

Archbishop Tlhagale Makes a Major Statement on Priest Abuse

Southern African Bishops' Conference
April 7, 2010

http://www.sacbc.org.za/Site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=422:archbishop-tlhagale-makes-a-major-statement-on-priest-abuse&catid=1:latest&Itemid=100

At the Annual Chrism Mass, on the 1st of April 2010, held at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Johannesburg, Archbishop Buti Tlhagale OMI, President of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, addressed the Catholic Church's current crisis sparked off in Ireland and Germany by revelations of abuse by clerics of those placed in their care. Here is the full transcript of his homily:

In my preparation for the homily of this year’s Holy Thursday, in view of the Year of the Priesthood, I had thought that I would look at the heroic virtues of our predecessors in the Priesthood with the hope of drawing inspiration from their pastoral commitment. With CNN bombarding the world for days on end with the painful clergy scandals in Ireland and Germany, I could not turn myself into a more positive frame of mind, for I know that the church in Africa, is inflicted by the same scourge.

My Saint of choice this year is St. Francis of Assisi. Last year it was St. Catherine of Sienna. Friar Thomas of Celana had been asked by Pope Gregory IX in 1228, to write about the life of St. Francis. Brother Thomas paints a prodigious portrait of St. Francis. He describes him as the new athlete of Christ; the new knight of Christ. This is the man who, when his father compelled him to renounce all rights of inheritance, took off all his clothes and returned them to his greedy father. Francis never looked back. Francis was a lover of profound humility who washed the sores of lepers. He poured out his compassion for the poor and afflicted. His deep piety led him to rebuild churches in ruins. He symbolized the virtues expected of every follower of Christ especially the priest. We are expected to be the new knights of Christ, the new athletes of Christ; compassionate, caring, disciplined and faithful witnesses of Christ.

In our times we have betrayed the very Gospel we preach. The Good News we claim to announce sounds so hollow, so devoid of any meaning when matched with our much publicized negative moral behaviour. Many who looked up to priests as their model feel betrayed, ashamed and disappointed. They feel that some priests have “slipped away from the footprints of the Apostles.” Trust has been compromised. The halo has been tilted, if not broken. What happens in Ireland or in Germany or America affects us all. It simply means that the misbehaviour of priests in Africa has not been exposed to the same glare of the media as in other parts of the world. We must therefore take responsibility for the hurt, the scandals, the pain and the suffering caused by ourselves who claim to be models of good behaviour. The image of the Catholic church is virtually in ruins because of the bad behaviour of its priests, wolves wearing sheep’s skin, preying on unsuspecting victims, inflicting irreparable harm, and continuing to do so with impunity. We are slowly but surely bent on destroying the church of God by undermining and tearing apart the faith of lay believers. Ironically, priests have become a stumbling block to the promotion of vocations.

Bad news spreads like wild fire. I wish I could say that there are only a few bad apples. But the outrage around us suggests that there are more than just a few bad apples.

The upshot of this sorry state of affairs is that we weaken the authoritative voice of the Church. As Church leaders, we become incapable of criticising the corrupt and immoral behaviour of the members of our respective communities. We become hesitant to criticise the greed and malpractices of our civic authorities. We are paralysed and automatically become reluctant to guide young people in the many moral dilemmas they face.

Under such circumstances, when allegations after allegations are made, when scandal after scandal is brought forth, as clergy, we probably feel much closer to Judas Iscariot and his thirty pieces of silver. “Alas for that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed”. (Mk. 14.21) Or perhaps like Simon Peter, we are deeply buried in denial; we curse and swear when we hear the words: “You are one of them”. We answer: “I do not know the man you speak of”. Each time we toss our vows in the air, each time we break our fidelity, we betray Christ himself.

This is a time of crisis. But it is also a time of opportunity. An opportune time to experience the redeeming power of the grace of Christ crucified on the Cross. It is an opportune time for us to strive to become the examples of the wonderful stories contained the Gospel: “This son of mine was dead and has come back to life. He was lost and is found.” (Lk. 15.24) Or: “I was blind now I see.” (Jn. 9) The Church offers us the model of St. Francis of Assisi. At his conversion, Christ spoke to him from the wood of the cross: “Francis, go rebuild my house, which, as you see, it is all being destroyed.” Francis put on a habit of a penitent bearing the image of the cross. Internally, Thomas of Celano tells us Francis had put on the crucified Lord. The Church is crucified through her sons, her priests. Like Francis, we are being asked to become new servants, new priests who bear the image of Christ crucified. Francis was granted a singular privilege of being adorned with the stigmata. The wounds of Christ, the passion of Christ, was stamped on his heart.

St. Francis represents within the Church a complete about-face. A remarkable newness in the life of the Church. Behold a new heaven and a new earth. On this Holy Thursday when we celebrate the blessing of the oils and the birthday of the Priesthood, it is imperative that we join St. Francis in rebuilding the battered image of the church. We do this when we ourselves turn a new leaf, by being beyond reproach. This is the only way we are going to rebuild the confidence and respect of the people for the Church and for her priests.

I conclude by paraphrasing from the letter of Pope Benedict XVI to the Catholics of Ireland. Addressing the Bishops, he writes, “people rightly expect you to be men of God, to be holy, to live simply, to pursue personal conversion daily. 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 and stir up the flame of their love for Christ”. (March 20, 2010).

St. Francis of Assisi, intercede for us.