A woman prays during a prayer service in Northbrook, Ill., for repentance and healing for clergy sexual abuse which included prayers for victims, abusers and the Church. “The Church needs purification,” writes Msgr. Lopez-Gallo. (CNS photo/Karen Callaway, Chicago Catholic)
A Latin proverb I learned in minor seminary made plenty of sense – “Corruptio optimi, pessima” – “The corruption of the best is the worst.” As a teenager, the best thing in the world was to be a priest, a consecrated man who has the power to transform the bread and wine at Mass into the Body and Blood of Christ, and whose devotion in dispensing the sacraments is appreciated by the faithful.
Priests are in the world but they do not belong to its pleasures, and the sublimity of priestly dignity and holiness deserves respect and admiration. No wonder I was shocked and devastated reading the Pennsylvania grand jury report about the sexual abuse of children, the most awful, horrendous crime committed by the servants of Jesus who should aspire to be “another Christ.”
I was traumatized and ashamed by the scandal suffered by believers and non-believers alike, and from the depths of my heart I thank Pope Francis and Archbishop Michael Miller who were so strong in responding to the report.
“Looking back to the past,” wrote Pope Francis, “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 a situation 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.” (Letter of His Holiness, Pope Francis, August 20, 2018)
And Archbishop Miller in his pastoral letter to our archdiocese exhorted the faithful to join him in doing penance for the atrocities committed in our Church. His appeal will be followed by a pastoral plan for prayers, fasting and services of reparation, in all parishes.
A small committee of four priests recommends that our repentance and shame be made public by a procession, a Via Crucis, of all the priests of the diocese to set out from Holy Rosary Cathedral through Cambie Street to the John Paul II Pastoral Centre (or nearby Holy Name Parish) with hymns and prayers for the rehabilitation of the victims of sex abuse. Their wounds remain forever and I remember one man telling me that such trauma affected his ability to have a normal sexual relationship with his wife even after 20 years of marriage.
If the civic authorities can allow a Pride parade in Vancouver’s streets, why would they impede a manifestation of sorrow, penance, and shame for the misconduct of our brother priests? If the authorities do not permit us to do so, then the priests in their parishes can all conduct this Via Crucis at the same time, to make public the clergy’s shame, sadness and desire to atone for this act of felony.
By praying, fasting, and doing penance, we implore – “Parce Domine, parce populo tuo” – “Forgive, Lord, forgive your people.” As the prophet Joel exclaimed: “Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep and implore: ‘Spare your people, Lord. Do not make your heritage a thing of shame. Why should it be said among the nations ‘where is their God?’ And Yahweh took pity on his people.” (Joel 2,17)
After a period of penitence and sorrow in which we reaffirm our vows of baptism and obedience to the Ten Commandments, our promises of being chaste and the renewal of our priestly and Christian sanctification, we can exult and bless the mercy of God our Father, with the joy of our spiritual resurrection.
It is not the first time the Church of Jesus has passed through a dark night. Cesare Borgia (1475-1507), an illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI, was appointed Archbishop of Valencia and a cardinal before he was 20 years old. The Council of Trent repaired the Church’s misbehavior, and the emergence of a plethora of saints helped the faith to flourish.
Yes, the Church needs purification. It has passed through deeply troubled times before, but after repentance and suffering God forgives His Bride, the Church, who will sing “O happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam, which gained for us so great a Redeemer! Rejoice Mother Church! Exult in glory!” (Easter Vigil liturgy)
My first reaction on reading about the abomination committed by some of her ministers was to leave my Catholic Mother Church, but I considered that we must also admire the multitude of saints proclaimed in these last 70 years – St. Pius X, St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Theresa of Calcutta, St. John XXIII, St. John Paul II, and so many more.
In our sadness and dismay, let us not lost hope. We also know that the great majority of pastors live their priestly vocation with fidelity and dedication. Remember, it is in these moments of great trial that the Lord’s abundant mercy for sinners is also revealed. Close your eyes and pray “God forgive your Church!”