‘God weeps,’ Pope Francis tells sex abuse survivors, bishops in Philadelphia
Pope Francis told U.S. bishops and seminarians on Sunday that he had met with sex abuse survivors. “God weeps,” he said in unprepared remarks.
“I have in my heart, the stories of suffering and pain of the minors who were sexually abused by priests. And it continues to overwhelm me with shame that the people who were charged with taking care of these tender ones violated that trust and caused them a profound pain. God weeps.” Pope Francis said at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, according to a translation of the Spanish remarks by The Washington Post
“The crimes and sins of sexual abuse cannot be kept in secret any longer,” he continued.
Pope Francis said he was committed to “a careful oversight to ensure that youth are protected and that all responsible will be held accountable.”
Some survivor activists have been urging Pope Francis to substantively address the sex abuse crisis during his visit. And while he has certainly discussed the topic - many of those same groups found his comments lacking.
In his address to U.S. bishops at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, Pope Francis praised the “courage” of the bishops for seeking reforms following the scandal. The advocates would have liked Pope Francis to emphasize the victims, and not the bishops, when he speaks on the issue.
“If it’s going to help their healing, then it’s a positive experience for them. It’s a very positive experience for them,” said Marie Collins, member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and an abuse survivor from Ireland. But, Collins added, the meeting “really is not connected for the work for the future of child protection.”
Instead, she said, the pope’s decision to set up a papal commission advising on how to handle the issue going forward was “the most positive change to happen” so far.
The meeting happened at the seminary at about 8 a.m., just before Pope Francis’s remarks, according to a statement from head Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi. The meeting lasted for a half an hour.
Five adults who who were abused as minors - three women and two men - were at the meeting along with their families. Lombardi said that the victims were abused “by the clergy or by members of their families or their teachers,” according to a rush translation from the Vatican’s press office.
“Words cannot fully express my sorrow for the abuse you suffered,” Pope Francis told the survivors, according to remarks released by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. “I’m profoundly sorry that your innocence was violated by those you trusted,” he said.
“For those who were abused by a member of the clergy, I am deeply sorry for the times when you or your family spoke out, to report the abuse, but you were not heard or believed,” he told survivors and their families. “Please know that the Holy Fathers hears you and believes you. I deeply regret that some bishops failed in their responsibility to protect children. It is very disturbing to know that in some cases bishops were even abusers.”
He pledged that “clergy and bishops will be held accountable when they abuse or fail to protect children.”
Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, archbishop of Boston and a member of the Vatican’s advisory commission on child abuse; Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput; and Bishop Fitzgerald, head of the Diocese of Philadelphia Office for the protection of minors, accompanied Pope Francis to the meeting. The pope listened to the victims’ stories individually, and prayed with them.
The pope spoke with visitors, listening to their stories and offering them a few words together as a group and later listening to each one individually. He then prayed with them and “expressed his solidarity in sharing their suffering, as well as his own pain and shame in especially in the case of injury caused them by clergy or church workers,” Lombardi said.
For days, reporters have asked Lombardi whether Pope Francis was planning to meet with clergy sex abuse survivors. And for days, Lombardi has given a similar answer: if such a meeting were to happen, the media certainly wouldn’t be told about it ahead of time.
There is some precedent for such a meeting in the U.S.: In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI met with survivors, so it was not entirely surprising to see the Vatican reach out in this way again during this trip. Francis embraced survivors in 2014 at the Vatican.
Some survivor activists have been urging Pope Francis to substantively address the sex abuse crisis during his visit. And while he has certainly discussed the topic - many of those same groups found his comments lacking.
In his address to U.S. bishops at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, Pope Francis praised the “courage” of the bishops for seeking reforms following the scandal. The advocates would have liked Pope Francis to emphasize the victims, and not the bishops, when he speaks on the issue.
Robert Hoatson, who was carrying a hand stenciled placard at the basilica in Philadelphia on Saturday as a sign in support of victims of abuse, felt the pope’s comments brushed too quickly over the serious issue. “This is getting more bizarre,” said Hoatson, who works with victims. “ It’s going to cause more distress, more traumatization, re-abuse,” he said, “because it seemed like a side note.”
“It was as if he added this to his talk without telling the bishops what he is going to do, including removing some of them,” Hoatson said.
Pennsylvania state Rep. Mark Rozzi, himself a survivor of sexual abuse by a priest, is advocating for a bill in the state legislature that would lift the statute of limitations for two years so victims can testify about clergy abuse.
Hearing the pope say “God weeps” about sexual abuse, in his own state, was heartening to him.
“It’s definitely encouraging that he did take time to meet with the victims of clergy abuse. You know, his words definitely have an impact. But now we need action to follow those words,” Rozzi said. “That would be true justice.”
Karen Heller, Frances Sellers, and Julie Zauzmer contributed to this report, which has been updated multiple times.
This story was originally published September 27, 2015 at 2:07 PM with the headline "‘God weeps,’ Pope Francis tells sex abuse survivors, bishops in Philadelphia."