VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 166
DATE 28-09-2015

Summary:
- Francis meets with the victims of sexual abuse: perpetrators will be held
accountable
- Francis to visiting bishops: Appreciation and gratitude to families must
prevail over complaints
- It is painful to see prison systems that do not care for wounds, soothe pain
or offer new possibilities: the Pope to inmates at Curran-Fromhold penitentiary
- Concluding Mass at the World Meeting of Families: God wants all His children
to take part in the feast of the Gospel
- Francis leaves the United States: I thank the Lord that I was able to witness
the faith of God's people in this country
- Message for World Youth Day in Krakow, 2016: "Blessed are the merciful, for
they shall obtain mercy"
- World Youth Day and the Year of Mercy coincide to make "a Youth Jubilee at
world level"

___________________________________________________________

 Francis meets with the victims of sexual abuse: perpetrators will be held
accountable
 Vatican City, 28 September 2015 (VIS) - The final day of the Pope's apostolic
trip began yesterday with his meeting at the St. Charles Borromeo Seminary with
victims of sexual abuse perpetrated when they were minors by members of the
clergy, or members of their families or teachers. The group was composed of
five
adults - 3 women and 2 men - accompanied by Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley,
archbishop of Boston and president of the Commission for the Protection of
Minors, instituted by the Pope, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia, and
Bishop Michael Joseph Fitzgerald, head of the diocesan office for the
protection
of minors in the same diocese.
 During the meeting, which lasted half an hour, Francis listened to their
accounts of their experiences, addressed them as a group and then greeted each
one individually. He prayed with them and manifested his participation in their
suffering, his pain and his shame for the harm caused by members of the clergy
or ecclesiastical collaborators.
 "Thank you for corning here today", he said. "Words cannot fully express my
sorrow for the abuse you suffered. You are precious children of God who should
always expect our protection, our care and our love. I am profoundly sorry that
your innocence was violated by those who you trusted. In some cases the trust
was betrayed by members of your own family, in other cases by priests who carry
a sacred responsibility for the care of soul. In all circumstances, the
betrayal
was a terrible violation of human dignity.
 "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. Please know that the Holy Father 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 even were
abusers. I pledge to you that we will follow the path of truth wherever it may
lead. Clergy and bishops will be held accountable when they abuse or fail to
protect children.
 "We are gathered here in Philadelphia to celebrate God's gift of family life.
Within our family of faith and our human families, the sins and crimes of
sexual
abuse of children must no longer be held in secret and in shame. As we
anticipate the Jubilee Year of Mercy, your presence, so generously given
despite
the anger and pain you have experienced, reveals the merciful heart of Christ.
Your stories of survival, each unique and compelling, are powerful signs of the
hope that comes from the Lord's promise to be with us always.
 "It is good to know that you have brought family members and friends with you
today. I am grateful for their compassionate support and pray that many people
of the Church will respond to the call to accompany those who have suffered
abuse. May the Door of Mercy be opened wide in our dioceses, our parishes, our
homes and our hearts, to receive those who were abused and to seek the path to
forgiveness by trusting in the Lord. We promise to support your continued
healing and to always be vigilant to protect the children of today and
tomorrow.
 "When the disciples who walked with Jesus on the road to Emmaus recognised
that
He was the Risen Lord, they asked Jesus to stay with them. Like those
disciples,
I humbly beg you and all survivors of abuse to stay with us, to stay with the
Church, and that together, as pilgrims on the journey of faith, we might find
our way to the Father".

___________________________________________________________

 Francis to visiting bishops: Appreciation and gratitude to families must
prevail over complaints
 Vatican City, 28 September 2015 (VIS) - Shortly after his meeting with a group
of victims, the Holy Father returned to the issue of sexual abuse at the
beginning of his address to the three hundred bishops attending the World
Meeting of Families, held in the great Chapel of the St. Charles Borromeo
Seminary.
 "I am deeply pained by the stories, the sufferings and the pain of minors who
were sexually abused by priests. I continue to be ashamed that persons charged
with the tender care of those little ones abused them and caused them grave
harm. I deeply regret this. God weeps. The crimes and sins of sexual abuse of
minors may no longer be kept secret; I commit myself to ensuring that the
Church
makes every effort to protect minors and I promise that those responsible will
be held to account. Survivors of abuse have become true heralds of hope and
ministers of mercy; humbly we owe our gratitude to each of them and to their
families for their great courage in shedding the light of Christ on the evil
sexual abuse of minors. I say this because I have just met with a group of
persons abused as children, who are helped and accompanied here in Philadelphia
with particular care by Archbishop Chaput, and we felt that I should
communicate
this to you".
 Moving on to the issue of the family, he pronounced a discourse, at times
improvised, in which he focused on the characteristics of families in today's
society and the mission of bishops, reiterating that as pastors they must not
be
afraid to stay in the midst of families, with all their problems and their
capacities, as " A Christianity which does little in practice, while
incessantly
explaining its teachings, is dangerously unbalanced".
 The following are extensive extracts from the Pope's address:
 "For the Church, the family is not first and foremost a cause for concern, but
rather the joyous confirmation of God's blessing upon the masterpiece of
creation. Every day, all over the world, the Church can rejoice in the Lord's
gift of so many families who, even amid difficult trials, remain faithful to
their promises and keep the faith! I would say that the foremost pastoral
challenge of our changing times is to move decisively towards recognising this
gift. For all the obstacles we see before us, gratitude and appreciation should
prevail over concerns and complaints. The family is the fundamental locus of
the
covenant between the Church and God's creation. Without the family, not even
the
Church would exist. Nor could she be what she is called to be, namely 'a sign
and instrument of communion with God and of the unity of the entire human
race'.
Needless to say, our understanding, shaped by the interplay of ecclesial faith
and the conjugal experience of sacramental grace, must not lead us to disregard
the unprecedented changes taking place in contemporary society, with their
social, cultural - and now juridical - effects on family bonds. These changes
affect all of us, believers and non-believers alike. Christians are not
'immune'
to the changes of their times. This concrete world, with all its many problems
and possibilities, is where we must live, believe and proclaim".
 "Until recently, we lived in a social context where the similarities between
the civil institution of marriage and the Christian sacrament were considerable
and shared. The two were interrelated and mutually supportive. This is no
longer
the case. To describe our situation today, I would use two familiar images: our
neighbourhood stores and our large supermarkets. There was a time when one
neighbourhood store had everything one needed for personal and family life. The
products may not have been cleverly displayed, or offered much choice, but
there
was a personal bond between the shopkeeper and his customers. ... They trusted
one
another. They built up trust".
 "Then a different kind of store grew up: the supermarket. Huge spaces with a
great selection of merchandise. The world seems to have become one of these
great supermarkets; our culture has become more and more competitive. Business
is no longer conducted on the basis of trust; others can no longer be trusted.
There are no longer close personal relationships. Today's culture seems to
encourage people not to bond with anything or anyone, not to trust. ... Today
consumerism determines what is important. Consuming relationships, consuming
friendships, consuming religions, consuming, consuming... Whatever the cost or
consequences. A consumption which does not favour bonding, a consumption which
has little to do with human relationships. Social bonds are a mere 'means' for
the satisfaction of 'my needs'. The important thing is no longer our neighbour,
with his or her familiar face, story and personality".
 "The result is a culture which discards everything that is no longer 'useful'
or 'satisfying' for the tastes of the consumer. We have turned our society into
a huge multicultural showcase tied only to the tastes of certain 'consumers',
while so many others only 'eat the crumbs which fall from their masters'
table'.
This causes great harm. I would say that at the root of so many contemporary
situations is a kind of impoverishment born of a widespread and radical sense
of
loneliness. ... Loneliness with fear of commitment in a limitless effort to
feel
recognised".
 "Should we blame our young people for having grown up in this kind of society?
Should we condemn them for living in this kind of a world? Should they hear
their pastors saying that 'it was all better back then'. ... No, I do not think
that this is the way. As shepherds following in the footsteps of the Good
Shepherd, we are asked to seek out, to accompany, to lift up, to bind up the
wounds of our time. To look at things realistically, with the eyes of one who
feels called to action, to pastoral conversion. The world today demands this
conversion on our part. 'It is vitally important for the Church today to go
forth and preach the Gospel to all: to all places, on all occasions, without
hesitation, reluctance or fear. ... The Gospel is not a product to be consumed;
it has nothing to do with consumerist culture".
 "We would be mistaken, however, to see this culture of the present world as
mere indifference towards marriage and the family, as pure and simple
selfishness. ... We must not fall into this trap. Many young people, in the
context of this culture of discouragement, have yielded to a form of
unconscious
acquiescence. They are paralysed when they encounter the beautiful, noble and
truly necessary challenges which faith sets before them. Many put off marriage
while waiting for ideal conditions, when everything can be perfect. Meanwhile,
life goes on, without really being lived to the full. In Congress, a few days
ago, I said that we are living in a culture that drives and convinces young
people not to form a family, some through lack of material means to do so, and
others because they have the means but are comfortable as they are, but this is
the temptation - not to form a family".
 "As pastors, we bishops are called to collect our energies and to rebuild
enthusiasm for making families correspond ever more fully to the blessing of
God
which they are! We need to invest our energies not so much in rehearsing the
problems of the world around us and the merits of Christianity, but in
extending
a sincere invitation to young people to be brave and to opt for marriage and
the
family".
 "A Christianity which 'does' little in practice, while incessantly
'explaining'
its teachings, is dangerously unbalanced. I would even say that it is stuck in
a
vicious circle. A pastor must show that the 'Gospel of the family' is truly
'good news' in a world where self-concern seems to reign supreme! We are not
speaking about some romantic dream: the perseverance which is called for in
having a family and raising it transforms the world and human history. The
world
and history is transformed by families".
 A pastor serenely yet passionately proclaims the word of God. He encourages
believers to aim high. He will enable his brothers and sisters to hear and
experience God's promise, which can expand their experience of motherhood and
fatherhood within the horizon of a new 'familiarity' with God.

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 * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)