Pope Francis' Letter to all of us

I heard a very good homily this weekend from our associate priest addressing the sexual abuse crisis the Catholic Church is facing.  I was so grateful that he and our pastor addressed it immediately and frankly.

It was also good to hear that they are recommitting themselves to grow in personal holiness, recognizing our need for holy shepherds, now as much as ever.

I was especially uplifted this weekend as I considered all of the members of our parish who did not walk away from the church during this, but continued to come to the Eucharist for sustenance.  We do indeed follow Christ.

Our good priests are suffering along with us because of the sins of their brothers.  As you will read in the following letter from Pope Francis, we all suffer together. 

Here is a powerful excerpt from his letter, and a second excerpt calling on each of us as well.  I do encourage you to read the entire text in the link given below.

"With shame and repentance, we acknowledge as an ecclesial community that we were not where we should have been, that we did not act in a timely manner, realizing the magnitude and the gravity of the damage done to so many lives. We showed no care for the little ones; we abandoned them. I make my own the words of the then Cardinal Ratzinger when, during the Way of the Cross composed for Good Friday 2005, he identified with the cry of pain of so many victims and exclaimed: “How much filth there is in the Church, and even among those who, in the priesthood, ought to belong entirely to [Christ]! How much pride, how much self-complacency! Christ’s betrayal by his disciples, their unworthy reception of his body and blood, is certainly the greatest suffering endured by the Redeemer; it pierces his heart. We can only call to him from the depths of our hearts: Kyrie eleison – Lord, save us! (cf. Mt 8:25)” (Ninth Station)."

"It is always helpful to remember that “in salvation history, the Lord saved one people. We are never completely ourselves unless we belong to a people. That is why no one is saved alone, as an isolated individual. Rather, God draws us to himself, taking into account the complex fabric of interpersonal relationships present in the human community. God wanted to enter into the life and history of a people” (Gaudete et Exsultate, 6). Consequently, the only way that we have to respond to this evil that has darkened so many lives is to experience it as a task regarding all of us as the People of God. This awareness of being part of a people and a shared history will enable us to acknowledge our past sins and mistakes with a penitential openness that can allow us to be renewed from within. Without the active participation of all the Church’s members, everything being done to uproot the culture of abuse in our communities will not be successful in generating the necessary dynamics for sound and realistic
change . . ."

In his opening, Pope Francis humbly acknowledges:

"Looking back to the past, no effort to beg pardon and to seek to repair the harm done will ever be sufficient. Looking ahead to the future, no effort must be spared to create a culture able to prevent such situations from happening, but also to prevent the possibility of their being covered up and perpetuated. The pain of the victims and their families is also our pain, and so it is urgent that we once more reaffirm our commitment to ensure the protection of minors and of vulnerable adults."

I encourage you to take time to read his letter in its entirety:

Letter of His Holiness Pope Francis to the People of God

God bless,
Janet