Abuse and shame: Recalling Pope Francis' words in Belgium

By Andrea Tornielli

During his Apostolic Journeys, Pope Francis allows himself to be challenged and wounded by the reality he encounters; not everything can be prepared in advance. This was also the case during his visit to Luxembourg and Belgium, which concluded on Sunday, September 29.

Speaking with the Belgian king and prime minister, who, in different tones, raised the drama of abuses against minors that has weighed heavily, and continues to weigh, like a burden on the life of the country’s Church and its hierarchies, the Bishop of Rome clearly stated that even a single case of a child abused by a cleric is one too many.

Looking up from his prepared text, the Pope cited the “holy innocents,” the victims of King Herod, to illustrate that this still happens today. It was not the first time the Pope made this comparison. In February 2019, concluding the summit on abuse he convened in the Vatican, he cited Herod and his massacre of infants, adding off-the-cuff that behind the abuse of minors “there is Satan.”

In his homily at Mass celebrated at King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, Pope Francis wanted to add a few clear and strong paragraphs. He did so after being deeply moved by the meeting with several abuse victims that took place two days earlier, a dramatic and moving conversation lasting more than two hours at the Apostolic Nunciature in Brussels.

The Pope returned “with his mind and heart” to their stories and their sufferings to reiterate that there is no place for abuse or the covering up of abuse within the Church. He stated that evil “should not be hidden” but must be bravely brought to light, bringing the abuser to justice, whoever they may be—“layperson, priest, or bishop.”

There is another important aspect to focus on in Pope Francis's words. Both at the Belgian royal palace and in his conversation with journalists during the return flight, the Pope cited statistics showing that the majority of abuses occur within families, at schools, and in the world of sports.

This was not the first time he did so. But this time, with unprecedented clarity, he aimed to eliminate any alibi for the misuse of those numbers by those who would seek to defend themselves by highlighting others' responsibilities and minimizing the issue.

It is true that the Church has undertaken, in the last quarter century, a path that has led to very strict emergency laws against abuse. It is true that others have not taken the same steps.

However, it is equally true that abuse within the Church is something horrible, which always begins with an abuse of power and manipulation of the conscience of those who are defenseless. Families who had entrusted their children to the Church to be educated in the faith, believing them to be safe, have seen them return mortally wounded in body and soul.

For this reason, there can be no instrumental use of statistics, almost as if trying to minimize something that cannot and must not be minimized in any way, but must be fought against and eradicated with all possible determination. Abuse is a crime that “kills the soul,” as Archbishop Charles Scicluna once said.

The Successor of Peter, following in the footsteps of his two predecessors, has thus promulgated very strict new laws to stop abuse, and has stated that even a single case of abuse against minors within the Church would be one too many.

He indicated to the entire Church that the most appropriate attitude is one of shame, humiliation, and the request for forgiveness. It is the same penitential attitude that Pope Benedict XVI proposed—though he was misunderstood—when he affirmed that the greatest enemy for the Church is not external but the sin within it.

Humiliation and the request for forgiveness are deeply Christian attitudes. They remind us that the ecclesial community is made up of forgiven sinners and that the abuses that occur within it are a wound that concerns us all.