Pope condemns 'shameful' abuse in address to Belgian authorities

By Christopher Wells

The sexual abuse of children is “our shame and humiliation”, Pope Francis said on Friday, insisting that the Church “must be ashamed and try to resolve the situation with Christian humility and make every effort so this doesn’t happen again”.

In remarks to civil leaders in Belgium, Pope Francis once again described clerical sexual abuse as a scourge, comparing it to the slaughter of the Holy Innocents by King Herod when Jesus was born.

Clerical sexual abuse is “our shame”, the Pope repeated, “the shame that today we must confront and beg forgiveness and resolve the problem, the shame of abuse, of the abuse of minors”.

The Pope insisted that the Church cannot make excuses, even if the majority of abuse occurs in families or schools. “In the Church, we must ask forgiveness for this,” he said. “This is our shame and our humiliation”.

In his remarks, Pope Francis also spoke out strongly about forced adoption, a practice sadly prevalent especially in the middle part of the twentieth century.

In the “poignant stories” of single-mothers forcibly separated from their children, “we see how the bitter fruit of wrongdoing and criminality was mixed in with the prevailing view in all parts of society at the time”.

The Pope prayed that the Church would never conform to misguided views of the predominant culture, “even when that culture uses, in a manipulative way, values derived from the Gospel, drawing from it inauthentic conclusions that cause suffering and exclusion”.

Efforts to ‘repair the irreparable’

Speaking prior to the Holy Father, King Philip of Belgium also addressed the abuse crisis, noting the Pope’s condemnation, “in the strongest possible terms”, of the “unspeakable tragedy of sexual abuse within the Church”.

Victims of abuse, as well as victims of forced adoption, “have been scarred for life”, the King said, adding, “It has taken far too long for their cries to be heard and acknowledged; it has taken far too long to begin looking for ways to ‘repair’ the irreparable”.

While recognizing the “tangible” steps taken by Pope Francis “to combat these horrific acts”, and the efforts of the Belgian Church in this regard, he insisted those efforts “must continue resolutely and relentlessly”.

‘Words are not enough’

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo likewise addressed the crisis of clerical sexual abuse and history of forced adoptions, saying both have “undermined” trust in the Catholic Church and civil society.

Despite Pope Francis’ commitment “to a just and equitable approach”, “there is still a long way to go”, De Croo said.

“Church ministers work with conviction and charity, but if something goes wrong, the cover-up cannot be accepted”, he said, because “it harms the valuable work done by everyone”.

That, he said, “is why today words are not enough. Concrete steps must be taken.”