{"id":25477,"date":"2010-04-12T05:17:17","date_gmt":"2010-04-12T09:17:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/2010\/04\/lombardis-statement-on-clergy\/"},"modified":"2010-04-12T05:17:17","modified_gmt":"2010-04-12T09:17:17","slug":"lombardis-statement-on-clergy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/2010\/04\/lombardis-statement-on-clergy\/","title":{"rendered":"Lombardi’s statement on clergy sex abuse"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\"FLombardi.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This past Friday (April 9) Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director
\nof the Vatican press office, spoke about the sexual abuse of minors. Remembering
\nthat Father Lombardi is only the press director for the Vatican and not someone
\nwho sets policy, this statement fine. It evokes some questions and it opens
\nconversation, in my opinion. I think it is necessary to read the address in its entirety because there are a number of points made therein that were not mentioned –no surprise– in the secular media. This is his statement as published by Vatican
\nRadio.<\/i><\/p>\n

The debate concerning sexual abuse, and not only that committed by the
\nclergy, continues with news items and comments of various kinds. How can we
\nsail through these stormy waters while maintaining a secure course and
\nresponding to the evangelical motto ‘Duc in altum’ — Put out into the deep?<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In the first place, by continuing to seek truth, and peace
\nfor the victims. One of the most striking things is that today so many inner
\nwounds are coming to light, wounds that also date to many years (sometimes
\ndecades) ago, but evidently still open. Many victims do not seek financial
\ncompensation but inner assistance, a judgment on their painful individual
\nexperiences. There is something that we have yet to fully understand<\/b>; perhaps
\nwe need a more profound experience of events that have had such a negative
\nimpact on the lives of individuals, of the Church and of society. One example
\nof this<\/span>, at the collective level, is the hatred and violence of conflicts
\nbetween peoples which are, as we see, so difficult to overcome in true
\nreconciliation<\/span>. Abuse opens wounds at a deep inner level<\/b>. For this reason,
\ncertain episcopates were right when they courageously resumed developing ways
\nand places in which victims could express themselves freely, listening to them
\nwithout taking it for granted that the problem had already been faced and
\novercome by the workshops established sometime ago. For this reason also, other
\nepiscopates and individual bishops were right to intervene paternally, showing
\nspiritual, liturgical and human concern for victims. It seems certain that the
\nnumber of new accusations of abuse is falling, as is happening in the United
\nStates, but for many people the road to profound healing is only now beginning,
\nand for others it has yet to start<\/span>. In the context of this concern for victims,
\nthe Pope has written of his readiness to hold new meetings with then, thus
\nsharing in the journey of the entire ecclesial community<\/span>. But this journey, in
\norder to achieve profound effects, must take place in respect for people and
\nthe search for peace.<\/p>\n

Alongside concern for victims<\/b> we must continue to
\nimplement, decisively and truthfully, the correct procedures for the canonical
\njudgment of the guilty, and for collaborating with the civil authorities in
\nmatters concerning their judicial and penal competencies, taking the specific
\nnorms and situations of the various countries into account<\/span>. Only in this way
\ncan we hope effectively to rebuild a climate of justice and complete trust<\/b> in
\nthe ecclesiastical institution. It has happened that a number of leaders of
\ncommunities and institutions, through inexperience or unpreparedness, have not
\nhad a ready understanding of the protocols and criteria for intervention which
\ncould have helped them intervene decisively even when this was very difficult or
\npainful for them, also because they were often surprised by the accusations.
\nBut, while civil law intervenes through general norms<\/span>, canon law<\/b> must take
\naccount of the specific moral gravity of an abuse of the trust placed in
\npersons who hold positions of responsibility within the ecclesial community<\/span>,
\nand of the flagrant contradiction with the conduct they should show. In this
\nsense, transparency and rigour are urgent requirements if the Church is to bear
\nwitness to wise and just government.<\/p>\n

The formation and selection of candidates
\nfor the priesthood, and more generally of the staff of educational and pastoral
\ninstitutions, is the basis for an effective prevention of the risk of future
\nabuses. Achieving a healthy maturity of the personality, also from a sexual
\npoint of view, has always been a difficult challenge, but today it is
\nparticularly so, although the best psychological and medical knowledge is of
\ngreat help in spiritual and moral formation<\/b>. It has been observed that the
\ngreatest frequency of abuses coincided with the most intense period of the
\n‘sexual revolution’ of past decades<\/b>. Formation must take account of this
\ncontext and of the more general context of secularisation. In the final
\nanalysis, this means rediscovering and reaffirming the sense and importance of
\nsexuality, chastity and emotional relationships in today’s world, and doing so
\nin concrete, not just verbal or abstract, terms<\/b><\/i>. What a source of disorder and
\nsuffering their violation or undervaluation can be! As the Pope observed in his
\nLetter to Irish Catholics, a Christian priestly life today can respond to the
\nrequirements of its vocation only by truly nourishing itself at the wellspring
\nof faith and friendship with Christ.<\/p>\n

People who love truth and the objective
\nevaluation of problems will know where to seek and find information for a more
\noverall comprehension of the problem of paedophilia and the sexual abuse of
\nminors in our time, in different countries, understanding its range and
\npervasiveness. Thus they will be able to achieve a better understanding of the
\ndegree to which the Catholic Church shares problems that are not only her own,
\nto what extent they have particular gravity for her and require specific
\ninterventions, and, finally, the extent to which the experience the Church is going
\nthrough in this field may also be useful for other institutions or for society
\nas a whole. In this context, we truly feel that the communications media have
\nnot yet worked sufficiently, especially in countries in which the Church has a
\nstronger presence and in which she is more easily subject to criticism<\/i>. Yet,
\ndocuments such as the national U.S. report on the mistreatment of children
\ndeserve to be better known in order to understand what fields require urgent
\nsocial intervention, and the proportions of the problem. In the U.S.A. in 2008
\nalone<\/b>, 62,000 people were identified as having committed acts of abuse against
\nminors<\/b><\/i><\/span>, while the proportion of Catholic priests was so small as not to be
\ntaken into consideration as a group.<\/p>\n

The protection of minors and young people
\nis<\/span>, then, an immense and unlimited field<\/span>, which goes well beyond the specific
\nproblem concerning certain members of the clergy<\/span>. People who sensitively,
\ngenerously and attentively dedicate their efforts to this problem deserve
\ngratitude, respect and encouragement from everyone, especially from the
\necclesial and civil authorities. Theirs is an essential contribution for the
\nserenity and credibility of the education and formation of young people, both
\ninside and outside the Church. The Pope rightly expressed words of great
\nappreciation for them in his Letter to Irish Catholics, though naturally with a
\nview to a vaster horizon.<\/p>\n

Finally, Pope Benedict XVI, a coherent guide along
\nthe path of rigour and truth, merits all respect and support, testimony of
\nwhich is reaching him from all parts of the Church. He is a pastor well capable
\nof facing — with great rectitude and confidence — this difficult time in
\nwhich there is no lack of criticism and unfounded insinuations. It must be said
\nthat he is a Pope who has spoken a lot about the Truth of God and about respect
\nfor truth; and he has become a credible witness of this. We accompany him<\/span>,
\nlearning from him the constancy necessary to grow in truth and transparency,
\ncontinuing to open our horizons to the serious problems of the world and
\nresponding patiently to the slow and gradual release of partial or presumed
\n‘revelations’ which seek to undermine his credibility, and that of other
\ninstitutions or individuals of the Church<\/i>.<\/p>\n

This patient and solid love of truth
\nis necessary, in the Church, in the society in which we live, in communicating
\nand in writing, if we wish to serve rather than confuse our fellow men and
\nwomen.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This past Friday (April 9) Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, spoke about the sexual abuse of minors. Remembering that Father Lombardi is only the press director for the Vatican and not someone who sets policy, this statement fine. It evokes some questions and it opens conversation, in my opinion. I … Continue reading Lombardi’s statement on clergy sex abuse<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[2377,2338,2311,2378],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25477"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25477\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}