Pope Francis Apologizes to Abuse Victims

By Andrew Rosenthal
New York Times
July 7, 2014

http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/07/07/pope-francis-apologized-to-abuse-victims/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

Pope Francis on July 6, 2014.Credit Alessandra Tarantino/Associated Press

Pope Francis met over the weekend with six victims of abuse by Catholic clergy, denounced attacks on children in religious terms during a special Mass this morning and warned bishops of the Roman Catholic Church that they will be held accountable for their actions toward the abused and the abusers.

Some victims’ advocates dismissed the meetings and the Mass as a publicity stunt, but it seemed to me to be more than that. Francis said abusers “profane the very image of God” and talked about the way that sexual assaults by people who are in a position of profound trust can harm victims for the rest of their lives.

“Before God and his people I express my sorrow for the sins and grave crimes of clerical sexual abuse committed against you,” the pope said. “And I humbly ask forgiveness. I beg your forgiveness, too for the sins of omissions on the part of Church leaders who did not respond adequately to reports of abuse made by family members, as well as by abuse victims themselves.”

That very formulation was also a reminder that the church has still not done enough to acknowledge many decades of sexual violence against children, and to make sure that it will not happen again. The cover-ups of abuse – including the shuffling around to other parishes of priests known to have attacked children – were sins of commission, not omission.

And although Francis has created a panel to address sexual abuse, that group has met only twice, most recently on Sunday, and that was to talk about the appointment of new members.

Francis spoke in his homily today about reconciliation and forgiveness, and about accountability by bishops—but he did not address what many victims’ advocates believe is a central problem: the lack of a rule that clergymen who learn of abuse must report it to civil authorities.

Fixing the church’s internal culture, which has fostered the lack of accountability, is vitally important. But sexual assault on a minor is not just what the pope called a “grave sin,” in Catholic doctrine, it is a major crime. However profound their duties to their church and their religion may be, Catholic priests owe an equal duty to the larger community.