Pope Francis Meets Sex-Abuse Victims; Expresses ‘Solidarity’ for Their Suffering

By Deborah Ball And Scott Calvert
Wall Street Journal
September 27, 2015

http://www.wsj.com/articles/pope-meets-sex-abuse-victims-expresses-solidarity-for-their-suffering-1443366912

Pope Francis celebrates Mass in Philadelphia. Photo by Justin Sullivan

PHILADELPHIA—The pope met with victims of sex abuse by priests on Sunday morning, expressing his “solidarity” for their suffering and assuring them the guilty will be punished.

The pope met early Sunday morning at a Philadelphia seminary with five adults—three women and two men—who suffered abuse by priests as minors. The group was accompanied by Boston Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, who is the chair of a papal committee for the protection of minors and has been leading the effort at the Vatican to establish new ways of dealing with the problem.

During the meeting, the pope directly addressed criticisms that the church hasn’t done enough to hold accountable bishops and other leaders who covered up the abuse.

Describing the sexual abuse of minors by priests as a “terrible violation of human dignity,” the pope said he “deeply regret(s) that some bishops failed in their responsibility to protect children” and decried instances when “you or your family spoke out, to report the abuse, but you were not heard or believed.”

The pope listened to each of the victim’s stories, prayed with them and “expressed his solidarity” for their suffering during a 30-minute meeting, according to the Vatican.

“I pledge to you that we will follow the path of truth wherever it may lead,” he told them in Spanish. “Clergy and bishops will be held accountable when they abuse or fail to protect children.”

During a speech to bishops following the meeting, the pope said he was “overwhelmed with shame” at the abuse, adding that “God weeps” for the victims. “The crimes and sins of the sexual abuse of children must no longer be held in secret,” he told the audience of 300 bishops.

The Vatican didn’t release the identity of the victims. The pope first met with victims of sex abuse at the Vatican in May 2014. His predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, met with victims a number of times during his papacy.

The meeting came on the last day of the pope’s six-day visit to the U.S. A meeting with victims had been expected throughout the week.

Until Sunday, the pope had largely avoided references to a scandal that has seriously undermined the U.S. church. During an address to bishops on Wednesday in Washington, he generically praised the response by American church leaders, thanking them for their “generous commitment to bring healing to victims” and to “work to ensure that such crimes will never be repeated.”

However, he made no mention of the question of punishment of the abusers or the bishops who covered up their acts—an issue that is still of major concern to victims’ advocates, particularly in the U.S.

The pope has established a commission to look at ways to improve the church’s handling of the problem, but some groups as well as some members of the commission itself have faulted the pontiff for not acting more strongly so far.

While the Vatican has punished hundreds of priests for sex abuse since the scandals erupted more than a decade ago, no pope has punished a bishop for failing to prevent the abuse. In June, the pope sought to remedy that by establishing a special Vatican court to try bishops who have mishandled clerical sex abuse.

Critics have also highlight statements from the pope that seem to diminish the severity of the scandal. In a March 2014 newspaper interview, he cited statistics showing that most perpetrators of child abuse are family members or neighbors. “The church has done a lot—perhaps more than anyone,” he said. “And yet the church is the only one that is attacked.”

Senior U.S. clerics hailed Sunday’s meeting and the pope’s call for accountability. “It’s absolutely huge,” said Bishop Edward J. Burns, of Juneau Alaska, who heads the Bishop’s Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People. The pope was “very clear and frank” on the question of accountability by church leaders.

“What is very clear is how serious he is about dealing with the matter of clergy sexual abuse in the church,” Bishop Burns said.

“He’s being very clear that he wants for us in the United States to continue what we’ve been doing and intensify that,” Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, the archbishop of Galveston-Houston.

But survivors’ groups said the pope’s words weren’t enough. One group representing victims, SNAP, called for the church to turn over more information about perpetrators to local police. Sunday’s meeting “does not make children safe,” said the group in a statement.

The test of his resolve will be whether he will actually enact true reforms in the church,” said Anne Barrett Doyle, Co-Director of BishopAccountability.org, which tracks clergy abuse.

Susan Renehan, an outspoken victim of abuse who has been trying to get records on the now-deceased priest she says sexually assaulted her as a child, says she wasn’t impressed by the pope’s meeting.

“I believe in action,” she said. “So far it’s just talk.”

Some who came to see the pope in Philadelphia, where he will hold a large Mass Sunday afternoon that will complete his visit, were heartened by the pope’s gesture.

“I’m glad he’s acknowledging what happened, not pushing it beneath the carpet or putting blinders on,” said Judy Harris, who is in Philadelphia for the pope’s visit.

Ms. Harris, 52 years old, praised Pope Francis for saying “those responsible” would be held accountable.

“If you did the same thing, you would be sentenced to prison. I feel these priests should have the same thing,” she said.