CHICAGO (IL)
Chicago Sun-Times
The Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago said “we’re sorry” one more time this month for decades of covered-up sexual abuse of children by priests.
But those conversant with Catholic theology will recognize the tenor and depth of the apology.
The church identifies two levels of apologies for sin. There’s the much-preferred “perfect act of contrition” in which the penitent is sorry because what was done offended God. That recognition advances the soul’s cleansing.
The second type — “the imperfect act of contrition” — acknowledges sorrow because failing to be sorry risks Hell. In essence, you’re sorry because failing to be sorry involves punishment down the road.
The 6,000 released pages of internal documents identifying the diocese’s role in hiding, moving and nurturing pedophiles constitutes the most “imperfect” apology because they were produced under duress. The diocese hid the documents, and came clean only as part of civil trial settlement that has taken eight years.
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