It's no coincidence that the events which take place in one part of the world can and do have an effect on things that happen in another part of our globe. In fact, with the dawn of the technological age and the information superhighway we call the internet, information travels instantly to the remotest parts of our world.
The allegations of abuse and the ensuing challenge for the Church in the United States of America, spoken of in George Weigel's book The Courage to be Catholic came to light on the public stage in the early part of 2002. Considering the gravity of the situation, most Americans may very well have wished that Rome would have cracked down on Church leaders in the United States much quicker and more severely than they did. There are many reasons for this wish, some of which are discussed in Mr. Weigel's work, but the reality about how it was handled and the reasons why, shed a very intriguing light on the subject.
While the Cardinals and Bishops in the United States struggled to deal with this new reality, Pope John Paul II, who was aware of the events unravelling not so far away, was in Toronto for the celebration of the 17th World Youth Day.
In his homily preached at the closing Mass at Downsview, the Holy Father acknowledged the 'harm done by some priests and religious to the young and vulnerable as something that fills us all with a deep sense of sadness and shame. But he encouraged the young people gathered there, and all those throughout the world who suffer because of the abuse of power by some, and the failure to protect the young and the vulerable to think of the vast majority of dedicated and generous priests and religious whose only wish is to serve and do good!
He then called upon young people to recognize the many priests, seminarians and consecrated persons who were present at that Mass, and called upon them to be close to them and support them! And if, in the depths of your hearts, you feel the same call to the priesthood or consecrated life, do not be afraid to follow Christ on the royal road of the Cross! At difficult moments in the Church's life, the pursuit of holiness becomes even more urgent. And holiness is not a question of age; it is a matter of living in the Holy Spirit, just as Kateri Tekakwitha did here in America and so many other young people have done.
Throughout his pontificate, John Paul II had never been afraid to speak the truth of the gospel, especially in the light of difficult situations. He always saw moments of crisis as moments of opportunity, and so instead of losing hope because of the actions of the few, he chose to concentrate on the promise of a brighter tomorrow. He reminded us that we are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures; we are the sum of the Father's love for us and our real capacity to become the image of his Son.
He therefore called on participants at the World Youth Day gathering, and on youth throughout the world to be people of the Beatitudes, and to be salt and light for the world.
2 comments:
Abuse of power can be manifested in so many ways…
Thanks for reminding me of our Holy Father’s words about this.
I was just thinking the other day that I might search for his homilies delivered at WYDs – it would make a good book…
There are many good priests and religious serving the Gospel and I applaud Bishops like Bishop Fabbro who has taken matters in hand and yes abuse has and is occurring in other denominations but it still begs the question; Why did the Church take so long to deal with the issue and had not the media reported the abuse, would it be dealt with?
The Gospel calls for justice for the oppressed. Jesus saw beyond the limits of his world and set his world on its head. We are insulated from the shock of the Gospel by time and by picking and choosing those teachings we like. If we are to be true followers of Jesus, we to must set the world on its head. We cannot be like the unjust judge and drag our feet hoping things will go away. As in the case of the sexual abuse scandals, it made things worse for the victims, for the Church and for the many good priests and religious who are striving to serve the Gospel. Hopefully, we will learn from this. Let us talk about issues, sexual abuse, women clergy, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, poverty, war, religious freedom.....I know we are an episcopal church. We need to investigate how we can integrate a synodal approach into the structure. There are many good lay people out here with many good ideas and we need to dialogue.
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