Blase Cupich: "The stake is not the pontificate of Francis, but the Church"

American Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, is one of four members of the summit's organizing committee

abuse scandal

which will take place next week, from 21 to 24 February, at the Vatican. The meeting, to which the presidents of the episcopal conferences of the whole world were summoned, has no precedent. Members of religious orders and victims will also participate and focus on three themes: accountability, accountability and transparency. In an interview with
THE NATION, Cupich admitted that with this summit, more than the pontificate of

Francisco

, "what is at stake is the

Catholic Church

"

-What is the purpose of the meeting?

It's double. First, make sure that all members of the Church and the world, in all cultures, understand their responsibilities for the protection of children and what it means for the bishops to take ownership of the problem. to enable them to report. Second, that everyone identify concrete steps to implement practices that protect children and deliver justice to victims in a responsible and transparent manner, including in contexts where governments are not necessarily reliable partners in enforcing the law. . .

-The Pope and the Vatican have tried to reduce expectations around the summit: can we expect decisive action?

Pope Francis clarified that the meeting had two objectives: first, to serve as a catechesis for formation so that bishops understand more deeply the sufferings of the victim-survivors and their responsibility for the interventions; second, to move forward in a set of protocols to respond to accusations of badual abuse by the clergy. It is the bishops and superiors who must take decisive action in a single body, act collectively to deal with abuse and badume their responsibilities.

Many accuse Pope Francisco of talking loudly about abuses, but he does not act the same way, and they say he's too kind to punish concealers. How do you see that?

Pope Francis admitted and asked for forgiveness for his mistakes, a very important action in itself and a model for all bishops. In one
motu prop
r
io In June 2016, the pope made much progress and said that a bishop "can be legitimately removed from office if, through negligence or omission, he facilitates acts that have caused severe suffering to all, natural persons and people. the whole community ". . The pope has already acted according to this measure in several cases, as in Chile, and also made it clear that it was necessary to evaluate the processes to ensure that his commitment to
the responsibility (responsibility) towards the victims and the Catholic community.

-The pope said that he considered the abuse of minors by the clergy as a global problem that calls for a comprehensive response and wants all bishops to have the same vision. Twenty years after the abuse scandal came to light, is it possible that bishops and superiors do not have the same vision?

Never before has there been a world summit of bishops on the subject of abuse. The mere fact that the pope summoned this meeting testifies to his determination that no one will doubt how to answer these questions. This meeting is a clear sign that the protection of children must be a top priority and no one can guarantee that it is not a problem in their area of ​​the world. Some have tried to reduce the problem in this regard, but the Holy Father has made it clear that this line of thinking was not acceptable and that bishops throughout the Church should badume their responsibilities so that children be safe and responsible. At the same time, the shape and dimensions of this problem differ from country to country.

– How do you think the scandal of abuse has affected the credibility of the Church?

The protection of children and the weak is a central value of the Church. It is also essential for the role of bishops in the life of the Church, for we are pastors who must take care of the people of God. We take these things very seriously. If we continue to fail, it will have an impact on the true mission of the Church: we know that this is at stake.

– Do you think the church can overcome this one day?

The church can never say that we have stopped learning or improving ourselves. But if you ask me if the church can learn from it and become a stronger protector of the most vulnerable, then yes, absolutely. The process has been and will continue to be very painful for the victim-survivors in the first place, but thanks to their bravery of denunciation, the whole church can listen and correct their deep failings.

– Do you think Francisco's pontificate is at stake with this summit?

I think that, more than the pontificate of Francisco, what is at stake, it is the Catholic Church. I think we are very fortunate to have a leader like Pope Francis who joins us in reacting strongly to a scandal in order to ensure justice for the victims, a protected environment for our people and accountability.

– Some women victims will participate in the summit: will the problem of abuse against nuns be addressed, recently denounced by the female supplement of
The Osservatore Romano?

As Pope Francis admitted, the Holy See is aware of these horrific abuses and is working to ensure that they never happen again. However, the priority of this meeting is the protection of minors, as they are particularly vulnerable and voiceless. We must start with them.