Words and Deeds from the Pope

New York Times
April 18, 2014

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/19/opinion/words-and-deeds-from-the-pope.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0

Each time Pope Francis speaks out, he seems to be evolving in his view of how well the Roman Catholic Church has been dealing with the grave historical legacy created by priests who raped and abused children. Last month he was decidedly defensive about a United Nations report that criticized the church. Francis insisted “no one else has done more” than the church to address the scandal, “yet the church is the only one to have been attacked.”

This month, on the other hand, the pope took a different tone in stepping forward to stress his own responsibility as a leader “compelled to personally take on all the evil” that some priests — “quite a few in number” — committed against children.

Without being specific, Francis promised the imposition of sanctions, presumably against those who committed or covered up the abuses. He offered no concrete measures, though he did venture a step beyond his Vatican predecessors in personally taking responsibility for confronting the problem.

“It is personal moral damage carried out by men of the church, and we will not take one step backward regarding how we will deal with this problem,” the pope promised in impromptu remarks at the Vatican to a French children’s welfare organization. “On the contrary, we have to be even stronger, because you cannot interfere with children.”

As welcome as the pope’s words were, advocates for abused victims properly asked whether and when they will see deeds to go with the talk. “Until he takes some actions, it’s hard to believe that his request for forgiveness is serious,” said Barbara Dorris of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.

Pope Francis has created a special commission to advise him on the protection of minors and the reform of church procedures. One glaring area that must be addressed has been the Vatican’s failure to punish members of the church hierarchy who took part in the widespread, systematic cover-up of the pedophilia scandal and shielded priests from being charged in the criminal courts.

For all the pope’s heartfelt comments, his and the church’s record on this shameful issue will depend considerably on whether Francis calls diocesan leaders to account for their crucial role in perpetuating the scandal.