(This article courtesy of the Arlington Catholic Herald.)
As a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church, I apologize to every man, woman and child who has ever been abused by any bishop, priest, religious, diocesan employee or volunteer. I also apologize for any mishandling of these tragic situations by bishops and other diocesan officials. As members of the Body of Christ, the Church, we are experiencing a wide range of human emotions and reactions: sorrow, empathy, confusion, frustration, horror, anger, and revulsion. Indeed, this is a unique time. What are we to do?
We cannot and must not run away from the reality which engulfs us, and the disillusionment we feel as a result; from the admission of sexual abuse on the part of some priests and bishops, and our reaction of horror and revulsion; from the pain of victims and the anguish of parents, and our reaction of empathy and sorrow; from the objectively evil acts of some of our priests and bishops, and our reaction of justice and forgiveness; from the concerted effort on the part of not a few to link this truly devastating issue with all sorts of other agenda wholly unrelated, and our reaction of frustration. We must not run away, we must stand on the consoling words of our Savior: “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33). In the end, this is Jesus’ Church, and He will guide Her and lead us in the way we should go.
I know that priests and laity alike have been jeered at, and feel shame over these revelations. For this, I am truly sorry. I encourage everyone who may be disillusioned or discouraged over the continuing scandal to be mindful of the admonition of St. Braulio (Bishop of Saragossa, Spain, from 631 to 651 A.D.) to his brother who wanted to resign as abbot: “…You must stick by the work entrusted to you and the task you have undertaken. You must hate the sins, not the people. Even though tribulation brings us more than we can endure, let us not be afraid as if we were resisting with our own strength. We must pray with the apostle that God give us ‘the way out of the temptation’ (cf. I Cor 10:13), that we may be able to withstand, for Christ is both our courage and our counsel, ‘without him we can do nothing’ (cf. Jn 15:3) and ‘with him we can do all things’ (cf. Phil 4:13).”
Rather than run away from the present reality, we must embrace it and recommit ourselves to Jesus Christ, to the truth of His Gospel and to the mission of His Church. All of us — bishops, priests, deacons, religious and laity — form one family. Family members continue to stand by one another even as they rebuke, punish, challenge and rehabilitate one another. Only in our determination to live more authentically as members of God’s Family — imitating Jesus, obeying His Gospel and building up His Church — will we actually reflect all that is good and true and decent.
In the face of this reality, I have said to my brother priests that we must renew our commitment to our priestly service in a deeper and more determined way. I urged us priests to renew our desire and willingness to become truly holy. Some might see in this call an attempt to run away from reality. True holiness is not an escape nor is it living in some Pollyannaish existence. Holiness, if understood correctly and undertaken seriously, is very demanding. It demands that we be honest with ourselves and about ourselves before God and with our leaders. Where we see sinfulness, we must respond with sorrow and a firm purpose of amendment. Where we see any form of addiction or unhealthy behavior, we must seek the appropriate intervention and rehabilitation. Conversion and repentance require much of us and from us. We cannot do it on our own strength, but in Christ we can do all things.
In his Holy Thursday letter to priests this year, Pope John Paul II directs their attention to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. “I feel a pressing need to urge you, as I did last year, to rediscover for yourselves and to help others to rediscover the beauty of the Sacrament of Reconciliation” (no. 3). Moreover, referring to the present scandal, he writes: “As the Church shows her concern for victims and strives to respond in truth and justice to each of these painful situations, all of us — conscious of human weakness, but trusting in the healing power of divine grace — are called to embrace the ‘mysterium Crucis’ and to commit ourselves more fully to the search for holiness” (no. 11).
Moreover, we priests must renew our commitment to live celibate and chaste lives, in imitation of the Lord Jesus, who calls us to share in His priesthood in a different and distinct way. Living celibately and chastely in union with the Lord Jesus is the best guarantee that our future and that of the Church will be free from all forms of sexual abuse and misconduct on the part of Her ministers.
As we continue to walk under the weight of this cross of scandal, I call upon the lay faithful to increase your prayers for bishops, priests and religious. The Second Vatican Council instructs the laity “to commend to God in their prayers those who have been placed over them, who indeed keep watch as having to render an account of our souls…” (Lumen Gentium, 37). We need your prayers every day. Priests offer the Eucharistic Sacrifice for you and with you, and dedicate their lives to ensuring that you have access to the grace of the sacraments. As they exercise their vocation and obtain the graces that you need, so too must you exercise your vocation and through your prayers and fasting, obtain the graces that priests need. We are a family, and we need each other in order to be faithful to God and to grow in holiness. The laity has a vital role in the life of the Church, chief among them is praying for the hierarchy and religious. “Strengthened by all her members, the Church can thus more effectively fulfill her mission for the life of the world” (Lumen Gentium, 37).
Yes, we are passing through a period of purification and conversion. We are passing over, with Christ, to a higher level of being and acting, which is at once the same in essentials yet markedly different in approach. Therefore, it is a sign of renewal and hope. Candidates for the priesthood will continue to undergo a much-improved psychological screening process and receive a solidly Catholic and integrated human, intellectual, spiritual and pastoral formation. Our diocesan policy on sexual abuse and sexual misconduct, in place since 1991, is being reviewed regularly, and refined where needed. I assure you that this policy will be painstakingly followed in every situation meriting its use. Seminars explaining and clarifying this policy are held throughout the year for all new clergy, religious, diocesan employees and volunteers. Pedophilia is now judged to be incurable and, therefore, no one afflicted with this illness can serve in ministry.
As the Bishop of Arlington, I can tell you that at this time there are no allegations of sexual abuse against any of our priests, nor to my knowledge is there any priest serving in this diocese who is a danger to children. Yet, there is no one among us without sin and we are part of the Body of Christ, the Church, and share in the sufferings of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Therefore, I proclaim Friday, June 7, 2002, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a day of prayer in the Diocese of Arlington to implore the grace of reconciliation and a genuine renewal within the Church. I also ask that, as a diocesan family, on this day we begin a novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus asking Him to heal the victims of sexual abuse, especially clerical sexual abuse, and to give us bishops the wisdom that we need to formulate a national sexual abuse policy to ensure that this sort of tragedy never happens again. This novena will begin on June 7, and finish on June 15 when we bishops are in Dallas, Texas, for our annual spring meeting. I designate Friday, June 14, as a day of fast and abstinence (i.e., refraining from meat, no eating between meals, one full meal and two lighter meals) within the Diocese of Arlington in reparation for the sins and crimes committed against all victims of sexual abuse and for the mistaken actions taken by bishops and other diocesan officials.
May God, through our prayers and penance, begin to heal those who have suffered so grievously, both perpetrators and victims. May we, as a Church and as a family, come together and work together to repair the damage done by these sinful and criminal acts and mishandling by diocesan officials to ensure that we are more faithful to our mission as a Church in the future.
