WILMINGTON (DE)
The Dialog
October 4, 2018
By Carolyn Woo
At the opening of the Fifth National Encuentro in Grapevine, Texas, San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller said, “You are right to be heartbroken.”
Much attention by church leaders, as it should be, is directed at new promises to take abuse seriously, encourage reporting, care for victims and establish safeguards. Yet little is said of the brokenhearted laity.
Could the clergy and church leaders feel the anguish and grief of a teen who walked out after a homily when the priest made brief mention of his disappointment at the abuse and moved on to some other topic? Could he not sense the devastation that she felt?
Or the parishioner who felt that the priest totally evaded accountability when he directed them to the immense good that the church does. And in response to a banner at a campus ministry center that reads, “You are known, loved and valued,” a student ponders, by whom? The church hierarchy?
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