Pope Francis urges Church to recognize “cruel behavior” in child abuse cases

Pope Francis urged the Church to recognize its “mistakes” and “cruel behavior” in child abuse cases while expressing the need to always seek the “forgiveness” of victims over “the ambiguous concern for reputation of the Church as an institution ”.

“It is only by facing the truth of this cruel behavior and humbly seeking forgiveness from victims and survivors that the Church can again be seen with confidence as a place of welcome and safety for those who have it. need.“Francisco said.

“I encourage you to listen to the call of the victims and to engage, with each other and with society in general, in these important debates because they truly concern the future of the Church. in Central and Eastern Europe, not only the future of the Church, but also the heart of Christians, are our responsibility ”, asked the Pope in a recorded message addressed to representatives of episcopates, religious orders and lay professionals who come together. in Warsaw from this Sunday until September 22 at the International Conference on the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Adults for the Churches of Central and Eastern Europe.

“Acknowledging our mistakes and failures can make us feel vulnerable and fragile, that’s for sure. But it can also be a time of wonderful grace, a time of emptiness, opening up new horizons of love and mutual service. If we recognize our mistakes, we will have nothing to fear, because it will be the Lord himself who will have led us there.», Added the Pope.

In his speech, the Pope hoped that this meeting, in which religious and experts will participate, will serve “to respond more adequately to this very serious shock that we are facing”. And he added: “Our expressions of contrition must become a concrete path of reform.

For the Pontiff, this path must go through the prevention of “new abuses” but also to guarantee “to others the confidence that our efforts will lead to real and reliable change”.

The meeting “Our common mission to protect the children of God” organized by the Pontifical Commission for the protection of minors, will bring together representatives of the Episcopal Conferences of 20 countries of Central Europe as well as those who work pastorally in the field of the protection of minors. minors and young people.

The international conference on the theme “our common mission to safeguard the children of God” will see the participation of the president of the Pontifical Commission for the protection of minors and Archbishop of Boston (United States), Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley.

As described by the organizers of the event, during the three working days participants will look for “examine the response to the child sexual abuse crisis and assess the impact in the regional context“And they will exchange experiences to create” a network of people involved in the field of child protection, to establish closer cooperation and share resources in a dialectic of mutual learning. “

(With information from Europa Press and Aciprensa)

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