VATICAN CITY
KSPR
By Heidi Schlumpf
Jul 07, 2014
(CNN) –
After meeting Monday with six victims of sexual abuse by clergy members, Pope Francis apologized for the crimes committed against them and begged forgiveness “for the sins of omission on the part of church leaders who did not respond adequately to reports of abuse.”
Apologies are all well and good, but this one brings to mind two trite but true sayings: “Too little, too late” and “Actions speak louder than words.” Unfortunately, Francis has more to do so that future popes won’t have to keep saying “I’m sorry” for these crimes and the Catholic Church’s cover-up.
This is not to downplay the important symbolism of public apologies from the church’s top leader. Indeed, Francis seems sincere and acknowledges the complicity of the institutional church in the cover-up, not just the actions of individual men.
But Francis is not the first pope to meet with sex abuse victims or even the first to offer an official apology for what has to be one of the gravest evils in the church. His predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, met on several occasions with victims, including during a trip to the United States. After one such meeting, he also issued a formal apology, saying he was “deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the victims have endured.”
In comparison, Francis’ apology, given during a lengthy homily, was more extensive, emphasizing the psychological and spiritual pain victims have endured and noting that these “despicable actions” had been “camouflaged with a complicity that cannot be explained.”
It also was better than his, “Yes, but …” apology earlier this year, when he mentioned that abusers were “quite a few in number, though not compared to the total number” of priests, after earlier complaining about how the church had been unfairly singled out for the problem of sexual abuse of minors.
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