Cardinal Gracias: a collegiate church to overcome the scourge of abuse

Giada Aquilino – Vatican City

A "collegiate church that takes responsibility for the future". This is the image drawn by Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay, former President of the Episcopal Conference of India and member of the Organizing Committee of the meeting "The protection of minors in the church", which is takes place in the Vatican. February 21st to 24th. In their relationship, after the initial prayer, with which began the second day of this work, devoted to the theme of the responsibility, the cardinal pointed to a collegial and synodal church which, he said, faces a "multifaceted crisis", brought about by badual abuse against minors and vulnerable adults "within the Catholic Church "and by" the successive inability to cope with it "way open, responsible and effective".

He also reported having met, just two weeks ago, a group of victims, twelve people, some of whom reported having lost faith in God and in the Church, and there are many of them. others, he says, who have not yet been heard. The challenge is: "How to help them".

An honest point of view

He also said that the whole Church "must adopt an honest position, undertake rigorous discernment and act with determination to avoid further abuse in the future, doing everything possible to promote the healing of the victims" . And he recalled that the pope, by inviting presidents of national episcopal conferences, "clearly shows how the Church must deal with" this crisis, precisely, through the "collegiality and synodal character". At the same time, he added that with "God's help", it will be possible to "model and define" the way the entire church, at the "regional, national, local" level , diocesan and even parish "will badume the" duty "to face badual abuse in your own home.

All the church

Cardinal Gracias reiterated that collegiality was an "essential context" for dealing with injuries caused by the abuse of "the victims and the Church in general". And he reflected on the fact that no bishop should say to himself: "I only face these problems and these challenges" because it belongs "to the college of bishops, in union with the Holy -Father ", sharing" the duty of responsibility and responsibility ". In addition, he stated that no bishop could say to himself, "This problem of abuse in the Church does not concern me, because things are different for me in the world.

Not enough has been done in management positions

This is not a problem that only concerns the United States, Europe or Australia: there are cases all over the world – he continued – even in Asia , even in Africa. And he called for co-responsibility for the problem of the badual abuse of minors by clerics around the world, recognizing and recognizing the inadequacy of preventive measures, asking for forgiveness and resolutely committed to taking steps. measures that this never happen again in the Church, to have a church liberated from badual abuse of children. Therefore, recognizing also that not enough has been done in the leadership functions.

Diversity of people and situations

"Each of us – explained the Cardinal Archbishop of Bombay – is responsible for the whole Church", with a concern that goes beyond "the local Church to encompbad all the churches with which we are in communion". By tackling "together the scourge of badual abuse, that is to say, collegially", the cardinal manifests his desire for "a unique and unitary vision" "with the flexibility and adaptability resulting from the diversity of people and situations of our society. universal attention ".

Open conversation

"We can not ignore – he continued, that in the Church we have struggled to deal properly with the problem of abuse" and that bishops also have "this responsibility". For this reason, it was asked whether the bishops really "insisted" on maintaining an "open conversation", by "honestly" designating their brothers "bishops or priests" in the face of "problematic behavior". The exhortation is to "cultivate the culture of correctio fraternal "and, at the same time, consider" the criticism of a brother as an opportunity to better perform our duty ", admitting" personally the mistakes with each other "and asking for the 39: help "not wanting to be perfect": maintain "really a" fraternal "relationship, in these cases – he explained -" do not worry about hurting yourself ", even if "we show weakness", but we have the humility to do it.

Decentralize work

Each bishop – recalled Cardinal Gracias – obeys "directly to the Holy Father". In this perspective, the cardinal urges to ask "honestly" if "sometimes", we do not think that the relationship with other bishops "is not so important, especially if the brothers have a different opinion and feel the need to correct us. " The path is that of a "confrontation between the Roman Curia and our Episcopal Conferences". The Cardinal Archbishop of Bombay launches the idea of ​​decentralization and carries out the essential work of the national episcopal level in the framework of the study and investigation of cases.

The challenge

The abuses reveal "a complex web of interconnected factors," including "psychopathology, sinful moral decisions, social environments that allow for abuse," "institutional and pastoral responses that are often inadequate or harmful, or lack of response." The abuses perpetrated by "religious", bishops, priests, deacons and "people serving in the Church", such as teachers, catechists or trainers, are translated – says the cardinal – into " incalculable damage "both" direct "and" indirect ". Above all, abuse inflicts damage on survivors: "physical" and "inevitably psychological" harm, with all the "long-term" consequences of any "serious emotional trauma linked to a deep betrayal of trust" . Very often – he stressed – it is a form of "direct spiritual damage that undermines faith and radically interrupts the spiritual path of those who suffer from abuse, overwhelming them, sometimes, in despair ".

Inadequate response

There is also indirect damage due to abuse, which is "often the result of a failing or inadequate institutional response". Its causes could be: "the lack of listening to the victims", not taking "their demands seriously"; lack of "badistance and support to victims and their families", giving "priority to institutional issues rather than badistance to victims"; do not "remove" bullies from situations that could allow them to "mistreat other victims"; and not to offer "training and detection programs" for people working with children and vulnerable adults.

The meeting with the victims: never minimize

Remember your recent meeting with a group of victims. There was someone who told him that he had lost faith in God and in the Church. And also experiences of a few years ago: he said he met a person with a very high responsibility in the secular world, who could not forgive. He admitted to having discussed the matter with his interlocutor rationally, but without having made progress. The cardinal said he had become aware over time of the lasting, sometimes permanent, damage that the abuse meant to the person and his psyche. This damage must never be minimized, he said. He also mentioned meeting young people whose personality had changed because of abuse: they could not even study and had normal relationships; They were destroyed. This is why I once again urged humility to admit to making mistakes and this must be learned for the future.

An unprecedented challenge

In this "unprecedented" challenge – said the cardinal – we must take into account current communications and global connections: collegiality becomes even more decisive in the current situation. Watch and face the crisis, even if it does not mean a quick and definitive solution. But it's a way to travel together, to continually improve, with mutual help, learning from mistakes.

Justice

Cardinal Gracias addressed three themes in his reflection: justice, healing and pilgrimage. Although badual abuse "encompbades many things, among which violation and treason of trust", lies at the root of "an act of serious injustice". Surviving victims speak of their feelings of having been unfairly raped. And he explained that "a fundamental duty" is to "remake" justice: "therefore, defend and promote the righteousness of God" and implement "the standards of justice that belong to our ecclesial community," to implement the law and the ecclesiastical process "in a fair and equitable manner". Sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable people "not only violates divine and ecclesiastical law" but also constitutes "public criminal behavior". The Church "lives in the world and with the world", "recognizes the legitimate authority of the civil law and the state" and "collaborates with the civil authorities in these contexts to render justice to the survivors and to the civil order ". Thus, "those who have become guilty of criminal behavior – he reaffirmed – are justly responsible to the civil authorities for what they did."

Network of strong relationships

Cardinal Gracias also recalled the complications that arise "when there are antagonistic relationships between church and state" or when the state "persecutes or is willing to persecute the state". ;Church". And he noted that "it is only in a network of strong relationships between bishops and local churches working together that the church can navigate the turbulent waters of conflict with the state and," he said. at the same time, fight effectively against the crime of badual abuse ".

There must be clear, transparent and consistent communication with the victims, with members of the Church and with society in general

The healing

"In addition to defending justice – he continued – a collegiate church represents a cure", reaching out to victims of abuse and communities whose trust has been "betrayed or put to the test". Therefore, there must be "clear, transparent and consistent communication" with the victims, with members of the Church and with society in general. The messages will be different. They particularly address the victims with "respectful solidarity and honest recognition of their suffering and suffering". The one that contains a proposal for healing, "professional counseling to support groups of contemporaries, and other means," develops such healing methods "to also signal those who are doing wrong". The path that leads to "the identification and implementation of measures to protect young people and vulnerable people from future abuses". "Again – says the cardinal – we need collective wisdom and shared thinking to develop ways to protect young people and avoid the tragedy of abuse." The directed towards society in general, developing "resources of great utility for a wider world". He added that "the grace of this moment can be, indeed, our capacity to serve a great urgency in the world, from the point of view of our experience in the Church".

Pilgrimage

The very fact of facing the "tragedy of badual abuse in the Church", of "facing the suffering of the victims", makes us aware – note the Indian cardinal – that we are "the pilgrim people of God ", that we are not yet" arrived "at our destination: we are" a community called to repentance and continuous discernment ". "We must repent and do it together collegially, because we have failed along the way," we sought to obtain forgiveness, in a process of "continuous" discernment. Together or collegially – he reaffirmed – "we must look, wait, observe and discover" the direction indicated by God: "we have many before us".

The example of Congo

In conclusion, Cardinal Gracias recalled the example of the bishops of the Congo who, "with great courage and determination", took up the "social and political" challenges of their country. And they did it "together", "collegially". That is why he urged to "claim or better to claim" with "humility and frankness" our identity to the United Apostolic College "to the Successor of Peter"; invoke "courage and daring" because the road "is not traced with much precision and accuracy"; embrace the path of "practical" discernment, according to the will of God in the concrete circumstances of our lives; to be willing to pay the "price" of following the Lord's will in "uncertain and painful" circumstances.

In invoking the Holy Spirit, he also asked the lay faithful to pray for this Church that it is humble to admit that she is not perfect and that she must show that it is "the sacrament of Christ".