VATICAN CITY: ACatholic nun told bishops yesterday to acknowledge the church's hypocrisy inits handling of the sexual abuse crisis, and a cardinal admitted case files hadbeen destroyed. Sister Veronica Openibo, a Nigerian who has worked in Africa,Europe and the United States, spoke with a soft voice but had a strong messagefor the prelates sitting before her, telling them: "This storm will notpass".
She delivered hertalk at the start of the penultimate day of a Vatican summit of some 200 seniorChurch officials convened by Pope Francis to confront what he has called thescourge of sexual abuse by the clergy. "We proclaim the Ten Commandmentsand parade ourselves as being the custodians of moral standards and values andgood behavior in society. Hypocrites at times? Yes! Why did we keep silent forso long?" she said.
She told thepope, sitting near her on the dais, that she admired him because he was"humble enough to change your mind," apologize and take action afterhe initially defended a Chilean bishop accused of covering up abuse. The bishoplater resigned. "How could the clerical Church have kept silent, coveringthese atrocities? The silence, the carrying of the secrets in the hearts of theperpetrators, the length of the abuses and the constant transfers ofperpetrators are unimaginable," she said.
She spoke of hershock when she watched the 2015 Oscar-winning film Spotlight, which uncoveredhow Church leaders in Boston moved predator priests from parish to parishinstead of defrocking them or turning them over to civil authorities. "Atthe present time, we are in a state of crisis and shame. We have seriouslyclouded the grace of the Christ-mission," Openibo said. "We mustacknowledge that our mediocrity, hypocrisy and complacency have brought us tothis disgraceful and scandalous place we find ourselves as a Church. We pauseto pray, Lord have mercy on us!" she said.
Destroyed files
She said Churchleaders must shed their habit of hiding events for fear of making a mistake."Too often we want to keep silent until the storm has passed. This stormwill not pass by. Our credibility is at stake," she said, adding that theChurch's male hierarchy should allow more women to be involved in fight againstabuse. German Cardinal Reinhard Marx called for more "traceability andtransparency" in dealing with the issue, such as limiting pontificalsecrecy in cases of abuse handled by the Vatican, releasing more statistics andpublishing judicial procedures.
"Files thatcould have documented the terrible deeds and named those responsible weredestroyed, or not even created. Instead of the perpetrators, the victims wereregulated and silence imposed on them," Marx, a leading progressive, said."The rights of victims were effectively trampled underfoot, and left tothe whims of individuals," Marx said. "The thoughts of some abusevictims can be summarized as follows: If the Church claims to act in the nameof Jesus, yet I am treated so badly by the Church or its administration, then Iwould also like to have nothing to do with this Jesus," he said. The abusecrisis has made 2018 one of the toughest years for the pope since his electionin 2013.
Chile's 34bishops offered to resign over the scandal, the pope's trip to Ireland exposeddecades of abuse in the once staunchly Catholic nation and a grand jury inPennsylvania revealed priests sexually abused about 1,000 people over sevendecades in that US state alone. Victims, some of whom told painful stories of abuseand cover-up when the conference began on Thursday, rallied in a Rome squarebefore a march to the Vatican to demand change and justice. The conference endson Sunday when the pope will make a final speech. The Vatican says it willformulate follow-up measures to make sure all bishop return home knowing how toput anti-abuse procedures into place. - Reuters