Rome Newsroom, Sep 27, 2024 / 09:11 am (CNA).
In Belgium’s Laeken Castle, Pope Francis confronted the Catholic Church’s long-standing clerical abuse crisis in the country, declaring unequivocally that “the Church should be ashamed” and must seek forgiveness for its failures.
Speaking before approximately 300 dignitaries, including King Philippe and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, the pope remarked that child abuse is “a scourge that the Church is tackling resolutely and firmly, listening to and accompanying the wounded and implementing a widespread prevention program throughout the world.”
“The Church is both holy and sinful,” Francis said in the castle’s Grand Gallery on Sept. 27 in his first speech since his arrival in Belgium. “The Church lives in this perennial coexistence of holiness and sin, of light and shadow, with outcomes often of great generosity and splendid dedication, and sometimes unfortunately with the emergence of painful counter-witnesses.”
“I am thinking of the dramatic incidents of child abuse,” he added. “The Church should be ashamed and ask for forgiveness and try to solve this situation with Christian humility.”
The pope’s comments come on the heels of his decision to laicize former Bruges Bishop Roger Vangheluwe many years after the former prelate admitted to repeatedly sexually abusing his nephews. A previous archbishop of Brussels, the late Cardinal Godfried Danneels, reportedly called on a victim of Vangheluwe’s abuse to remain silent.
The Catholic Church in Belgium is facing a significant decline in public trust. Only 50% of Belgians identified as Catholic in 2022, a drop of 16% from a decade earlier, with only 8.9% attending Mass at least once a month.
According to a recent report, the number of Catholics requesting to have their names removed from baptismal registers rose to 1,270 in 2023.
The pope spoke about clerical abuse in an off-the-cuff response following De Croo’s sharp condemnation of the Church’s handling of clerical abuse.
De Croo implored the Church to prioritize the needs of victims, stating: “Today, words alone do not suffice. We also need concrete steps.” King Philippe also joined the call for accountability in his speech, stating that the Church must work “incessantly” to atone for the crimes and aid in the healing of victims.
The visit by Pope Francis follows a series of scandals that have plagued the Belgian Church, culminating in a devastating report released in 2010 that revealed that more than 500 individuals had come forward with allegations of abuse by priests. The fallout from these revelations has led to significant scrutiny of Church leadership and practices, with many calling for a more transparent approach to handling abuse allegations.
A recent documentary, “Godvergeten” (“Godforsaken”), aired on Belgian television showcasing victims sharing their harrowing stories, further fueling public outrage and prompting investigations into the Church’s practices.
Both the prime minister and King Philippe made their most pointed remarks in Dutch, the language of Flanders, where the abuse cases have gained particular notoriety.
The pope’s address also touched upon Belgium’s troubled history of “forced adoptions,” a practice that persisted until the 1980s and saw unwed mothers coerced into giving up their children. “Often the family and other social actors, including the Church, thought that in order to remove the negative stigma … it was preferable for the good of both mother and child that the latter be adopted,” he lamented, adding that this mindset contributed to deep societal wounds.
In his speech, Pope Francis also spoke of Belgium’s unique role in Europe, calling it a bridge between cultures and a center for peace. “These are the two calamities of our time — the hell of war … and a demographic winter,” he said.
“This is why we have to be practical: Have children! Have children!” the pope added.
Francis did not, however, address the controversial topic of euthanasia in Belgium, a notable omission in his speech given ongoing discussions around the issue in Catholic health care settings in the country.
After the pope’s speech at Laeken Castle, he visited a residence for the elderly in financial difficulty run by the Little Sisters of the Poor. The pope is also expected to meet with victims of sexual abuse on Friday evening.
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Um, I have a question, Jorge.
What about Rupnik?
Why stop there?
The language of northern Belgium is Flemish (Vlaams). As in Vlaams Belang and Nieuw Vlaams Alliantie (N-VA), two of the political parties.
Little Sisters of the Poor are humbly serving the last, the least, and the lost. May the selfless servers and those served be blessed with joy and happiness.
Why should the Church be ashamed when Bergoglio is not ashamed? Here is the list of the sexual abusers he has and is protecting:https://opentabernacle.wordpress.com/2017/03/03/list-of-sexual-predators-protected-by-pope-francis-grows-and-grows/
Why not praise him for the flack he is taking by standing firm on abortion, no women priests, not accepting homosexuality and trans genderism ? Even the secular media is covering this. Give the man credit when credit is due! By the way he should be addressed as Pope Francis.
Probably because the article is about the Pope’s speech saying the Church should be ashamed of clerical abuse, not about everything he’s ever done.
Touché Amanda.
Bergoglio has continuously in word and deed promoted homosexuality and transgenderism, the heretical agenda of his Synod on women priests, and the raft of pro-abortion “experts” he has appointed just last week to his ruined Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. These are all matters of public record for the past 11 years. If Bergoglio acted and spoke as pope, he could be addressed as pope, but he does not. In fact, serious doubts must be entertained of whether he is pope and not an apostate and heretical anti-pope. Again, these are issues that have been routinely addressed on the public record for the past 11 years.
James Connor: He has never been “firm” on any of those matters. Check again. Early in his pontificate, he even condemned being “obsessed” over abortion, and he has knowingly been praising the work of some of the world’s most notorious abortionists ever since under the pretest of environmentalism. He restructured the Pontifical Academy for Life from a pro-life think tank to an abortion advocacy cesspool. An all-male priesthood was solved definitively by JPII, yet Francis, the politician, keeps finding cynical ways to revive it. And he clearly supports the legitimization of homosexuality.
From no other than Bridget Bardot today —
On Bergoglio: “I have no admiration whatsoever for what Pope Francis says and does. I wrote to the Pope twice, happy to know that he was taking the name of Francis and convinced that he would do something for animals. I never received a reply.”
https://gloria.tv/post/iQwEUxRhkeDk4Zs6txEp1Ds3Z
I too, James, am saddened because those who attack Pope Francis are, like me, sinners and ingrates.
I would only like to add and remember, regarding abortion and euthanasia—topics that are very close to my heart, as they represent the foremost and principal abuses of the apostate Western ‘civilization,’ once Christian and now neo-pagan (let it not be said, as was reproached to the Pope in Belgium for paying homage to King Baldwin, that we have returned to the Middle Ages—we are the ones who change, becoming worse, we have become barbaric, but God and His holy law do not change!)—that King Philippe, precisely ten years ago, abdicated.
Not formally from his power, but essentially from his role. A role that, particularly as a Catholic, required him to serve all his subjects, especially the least among them, in obedience to the famous Gospel paradox which demands that the greatest make themselves small and place themselves at the service of the most defenseless. And who are the most defenseless if not children?
Yet Philippe, forgetful of his *munus* and the responsibilities it entails, signed into law the bill extending euthanasia to minors without any age limit, a law approved by Parliament on February 13, 2014.
The 210,000 signatures collected from every corner of the world and addressed to him, urging him to deny his assent and shield the children of his people with his crown, were in vain. Two hundred and ten thousand signatures to stop a single one. These signatures were gathered not because there was a true belief that without the monarch’s approval, the law would not pass, but because Philippe’s ‘No’ would have embodied the ‘No’ of hundreds of thousands of citizens who do not identify with a Belgium that has taken on the guise of Herod. That ‘No’ would have signified that the word of one man, precisely because he is King, holds far greater weight than parliamentary majorities and political calculations.
None of those issues are relevant to the article. Francis has actively, intentionally, and repeatedly failed to properly discipline and laicize members of the church hierarchy who are guilty of sexual abuse and assault. His behavior is inexcusable and totally unacceptable. I’ll start referring to him as pope when he starts acting like one.
Athanasius, your comment inspired me to revisit the words of Saint Catherine of Siena, who played a pivotal role in the history of the Church. She was instrumental in bringing Pope Gregory XI back to Rome from Avignon. Later, she was summoned by Pope Urban VI to address the cardinals and remained in Rome as his advisor. The challenges faced by the Popes and the Church during Saint Catherine’s time may not mirror our own, but they were nonetheless significant, causing widespread disaffection, especially towards Urban VI. In fact, even those who remained loyal to the Pope and opposed the Antipope were plotting his assassination, blaming him for the Church’s woes. Catherine suffered deeply from this and was tormented by the thought of what she called a potential “parricide.” She not only prayed but asked the Lord to let her bear all the suffering so that the Church might be spared. And the Lord listened to her.
I offer this context because we must always look at the Pope with the eyes of faith. With that very same vision of faith, Saint Catherine wrote: “I urge and desire that you love Christ on earth” (Letter 177, to Cardinal Pietro of Porto). She also requested that her spiritual children offer “a special daily prayer for the Holy Church and for the Pope” (Letter 324, to Stefano Maconi, the future founder of the Certosa of Pavia).
Here is one of Saint Catherine’s prayers for the Pope. It can be recited daily as a tangible expression of our love for the Church, offering it just a minute of our time:
“O eternal God and sweetest charity, I pray and beg your most holy clemency that you purify your vicar, so that his heart may burn with holy desire to recover the lost members of the holy Church. And if his negligence displeases you, O eternal love, punish my body for it, which I offer and return to you, so that you may afflict and destroy it with your scourges, if it pleases you so. I pray that he always does your will, does not heed the counsel of the flesh, and does not cower in the face of any adversity, for truly all things fall away except you, the highest God. Therefore, O eternal mercy, make your vicar a devourer of the food of souls, burning with holy desire for your honor, and uniting himself only with you, because you are supreme and eternal goodness, purify our infirmities for your sake, and restore your bride with his salutary counsel and virtuous deeds. Amen.”
In a letter to Bernabò Visconti, Lord of Milan, after reminding him that “the sweet Word, Son of God, has placed His blood in the body of the holy Church and wills that it be administered by the hands of His vicar,” she wrote: “Therefore, it is foolish for anyone to turn away and act against this vicar who holds the keys to the blood of Christ crucified. Even if he were a demon incarnate, I must not raise my head against him but always humble myself, asking for mercy through the blood, for there is no other way to obtain it, nor can you share in the fruit of the blood in any other way. I implore you, for the love of Christ crucified, not to act against your head” (Letter 28).
As you may have noticed, Athanasius, I haven’t engaged directly with the content of the debate. But I hope I have helped you love the Pope, who remains the Vicar of Christ, and encouraged you to pray for both him and the Church. The Lord will bless you abundantly.
To the staff of the CNA, and CWR readers:
Here is a photo of the Pontiff Francis on the fateful night after his election:
https://www.tldm.org/news41/francis-danneels.jpg
The man at the right of the photo is Cardinal Godfreed Daneels (who as the article admits, was the “protector” of his friend the nephew-raping-pederast-pedophile Bishop Roger Vangelhue), and who (in league with his fellow sociopath Cardinal Theodore McCarrick) helped engineer the campaign to elect Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio to the papacy.
And consistent with the Pontiff Francis’ continuing very deep personal esteem and eternal protection of his friend the sociopath sex abuser Rupnik, following upon similar protections and favors the Pontiff Francis has doled out to other sociopath sex abusers like his Argentinian friend bishop Zanchetta, etc, etc, we should all keep in mind that in his prior role as Archbishop of Buenos Aries and head if the Argentine Bishops Conference, then-Cardinal Bergoglio orchestrated a multi-million dollar secret legal campaign to defend his friend “Rev.” Julio Grassi, the most notorious sex abuser in Argentina, who was tried and convicted of raping orphans in his “orphanage charity organization.”
CNA might consider the option of facing reality of what it means that The Pontiff Francis and the late Cardinal Danneels and the former Cardinal McCarrick are of one mind.
I submit to CNA and all that their “one mind” is NOT THE MIND OF CHRIST.
Thank you Paul and Chris for this information and the devastating links. The Church is being attacked from the inside it seems. May God help the Church. I had heard of this before but had attributed it to de enemies of the Church. Then after checking your links I went and found other links:
ps://www.yahoo.com › news › swiss-guards-39-gay-mafia-104500440–politics.html
The Swiss Guards’ Gay Mafia – Yahoo
January 24, 2014. The Swiss Guards’ Gay Mafia. For more than a year now, there has been ample talk around Rome about a powerful gay lobby at work inside the Vatican. When Pope Benedict XVI ..
Yes, Michel Foucault, the patron saint of post-modernism and liberated sex (he had his own boy) would have been very proud of Danneels.
A possible cover-up by the Belgian Catholic hierarchy of a vast scandal of sex abuse of minors by priests and bishops is likely to be less shocking to a group of parents who spent years trying, with no success, to have a graphically sexually explicit “catechism” textbook withdrawn from Catholic schools.
On June 24, the very day police were raiding the offices of the Archdiocese of Brussels and the home of Cardinal Godfreed Danneels, an article appeared in the Brussels Journal detailing the cardinal’s opposition to efforts to stop the catechism that had been written and approved by Belgian Catholic authorities.
Alexandra Colen, a Catholic member of the Belgian parliament, wrote that because of this “perverted little catechism,” “Hundreds of children who were not raped physically were molested spiritually during the catechism lessons.”
They really were ahead of their times when you think about the content of books now found in school libraries.
Many are so blinded by the resentment they harbor against the Church that they believe it capable of committing the gravest monstrosities imaginable. The concept they have formed of the Church is that it is a criminal organization.
However, this is not the first time in history that some have thought this way. Others before have said, from different perspectives, that the Pope and the ecclesiastical hierarchy are inventions of the Antichrist.
But we need to bring the issue to its core.
The behavior of priests (or rather, we should say: of some priests) is not the object of my faith. The object of our faith is Jesus Christ, God made man, who for each of us is ‘the way, the truth, and the life’ (John 14:6).
Of course, hearing criticism of the Church always causes sorrow, because it is as if we were hearing our mother being criticized: it is the Church, in fact, that gave birth to our faith, and it is in the Church that we nurture our faith. Our mothers eventually leave us. And yet, once we are adults, we can manage on our own.
But this is not the case with the Church. We absolutely need it always, until the very end, because it is through the Church that we encounter Christ. We meet Him primarily in the sacraments.
When I go to confession, it is Christ I want to meet. I am interested in His forgiveness. I care about His grace.
When I am at Mass, it is Christ’s sacrifice that I seek.
His blood is my only treasure, that blood which has a voice more eloquent than that of Abel (Hebrews 12:24). I seek Him for myself, for the Church, for all humanity, even for those who are scandalized by the behavior of some men within the Church.
As you see, Chris, I am not trying to contrast the immense good that exists in the Church with the evil committed by some of its ministers.
Because the object of our faith is Christ. It is Him we follow.
Certainly, the witness of the Church is important. Because through its life and its word, it proclaims Christ. And yet, not even the Church—even if it were composed solely of saints—is our God.
Christ, and Christ alone, is ‘our great God and Savior’ (Titus 2:13).
Only Christ is ‘He who is over all, God blessed forever’ (Romans 9:5).
In the nascent Church, Jesus also co-opted Judas. He knew well that Judas would betray Him and that his behavior would cast a shadow over the Twelve.
Why did He do this?
St. Augustine says that Jesus wanted to use even Judas. He tolerated being betrayed by him to redeem us.
Well, even today, Christ uses those who do harm within the Church to spur others to redouble their zeal.
But even without resorting to Judas, not even the Twelve could boast of their faithfulness.
With this in mind, the Church is called to remain humble, with its head bowed, to play the low notes, as the humble—let me emphasize that word—Francis does continuously.
Despite its infinite merits, the Church must not glory in itself.
Its mission is not to proclaim itself, but Christ.
We must be certain that the Lord did not make a mistake in presenting Himself to the world with such a fragile face as that of the Church.
It must be clear to everyone that its preaching is so marvelous, and its action so transformative, not because of the skill of its men but because of the virtue of Christ that is in it.
Just as St. Paul once said: ‘But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us’ (2 Corinthians 4:7).
Seeing the Church suffer from all these scandals, amplified by the social media, instead of discouraging us, reminds us that the object of our proclamation and our faith is our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
I understand your passion, Paolo, but, what are we to say and do when corruption exists? Nothing. Maybe turning over the tables in the temple is also following Jesus. The thing is sexual abuse by (a few) clergy does, has and is causing people to give up, and even more so when those people go to the Church for help and get rejected. Does not the reality of around 50% of clergy not believing that chastity is integral to their celibacy not bother you? Yes, I know you will question that figure: based on research and experience, I don’t doubt it for a minute anymore. The scandals and depressed morale aren’t due to us highlighting the existence (ever-present- yes) of evil within the church and even ourselves, it’s because of those evils themselves. So, don’t shoot the messenger, man, turn over some of the tables in the temple, while maintaining your deep faith. Maybe doing so is part of the faith. But, you’re the better man: I’ve given up (because of abuse but more so because of my Bishop’s response to me and others I know), so, yeah, I suppose you can, therefore, reject everything I say. We all have points to make, though and together maybe we come closer to reality.
Paolo. Read this response second. Just after I read your comment and replied to it, I received an email from a woman I have come to know who has been deeply harmed by a forced adoption within the RC Church. He husband was also a victim of child sexual abuse. Both after trying to deal with the fallout through the Church have decided to leave, the husband even going so far as to be officially ‘de-baptised’. Here is a short section from her email:
“Ironic is it not? That the very people who profess to be “so-called Christians” but rather acted very non-Christian and became like judge and jury by punishing and condemning innocent children and adults (like myself, husband’s name redacted, and thousands of others) were the ones who turned me against the churches and Christianity in general”.
“I believe, however, that I am a spiritual being within a human physical body (for now). My spirituality resides more in nature. In a universal. divine. all-knowing presence”.
So, unless Francis and his Bishops and religious OPrder leaders can/will actually do something for the many hundreds of thousands of people like this couple (and others I am assisting – and encouraging to keep their faith), as well as fully enact a truly zero-tolerance, nothing will ‘get better’ for the Church nor for the society it could and should be really being a light.
Well, that’s how I see it for now. Maybe I haven’t given up, but at present I also just can’t be part of the Body, and I do miss it.
“Many are so blinded by the resentment they harbor against the Church that they believe it capable of committing the gravest monstrosities imaginable. The concept they have formed of the Church is that it is a criminal organization.”
People have good cause, and plenty of evidence, to support these beliefs. Given Francis’ repeated refusal to properly and decisively address this and hold people accountable, it’s perfectly understandable that the church’s reputation has been tarnished. People aren’t stupid.
I continue to have an objection to the Bishop of Rome fashioning himself as a Head of State and meeting with his counterparts like the King and Queen of Belgium.
This globetrotting activity of the modern day papacy began with Paul VI and went on steroids during Pope John Paul’s tenure. There was less of it under Benedict. We live in an age of superstars, stadiums filled with screaming fans and a hypercommercialism of just about everything which now includes the person of the Bishop of Rome. If the Church were to be truly collegial, it would leave shepherding to the the bishop of each diocese.
I would make this applicable to WYDs and all the globetrotting and expense that yhose events involve. Wouldn’t it make sense to have Diocesan Youth Days when bishops meet with the youth of their individual dioceses, have Mass and conferences for youth to attend and then do a Billy Graham-style altar call for all the young willing to engage in missions of evangelizelization? I think the days of Church-as-Rock-Concert and globetrotting Popes should end.
I’m not a fan of altar calls in the Catholic Church (I mean, besides the entire Mass). I’m not sure about the globetrotting. Popes have been involved in diplomacy since approximately the time of Constantine. For some at least it was probably the right call.
But it would be nice for bishops to be more visible in their dioceses. I suspect most people only see him at their Confirmation, and some don’t even see him then. There are some large dioceses in the US, that take a day (or more) to drive across. Just to have the bishop come to a few regional parishes in a year (so that most people could make it without needing to pay for a hotel), say Mass, and give a conference or two, would probably make a world of difference in the relationship between bishop and people, without requiring him to visit each parish every year.
The appropriate position is for The Church to be ashamed of and shun the Pontiff Francis for his lifelong allegiance to clerical and episcopal sex abusers and sex abuse coverup hierarchs.
The key word in the headline is indeed,’should’. But he/they have an out – ‘the church is both holy and sinful’, the same ‘excuse so many abusers of children AND adults use, like the Salesian who was interrupted while raping a boy and who responded; “Well, God made me this way”. Or like the abusers who sexually harm then go to confession, often to other clerical sex abusers, as ex-Fr Kevin Lee explained in a video shortly before he ‘died’ see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHVhYXLNvlw . No, Francis, words are cheap and will only have value when you deal seriously with the offenders you already know about, such as Punik, for one.
Sorry, typo – not Punik…Rupnik, but I suspect most would know who I meant. By the way, if anyone would like a copy of Kevin Lee’s book, “Unholy Silence: Covering up the sins of the fathers”, I’m pretty sure you can’t get it anymore since his death but I am happy to send anyone a copy.
Sorry, typo – not Punik…Rupnik, but I suspect most would know who I meant. By the way, if anyone would like a copy of Kevin Lee’s book, “Unholy Silence: Covering up the sins of the fathers”, I’m pretty sure you can’t get it anymore since his death but I am happy to send anyone a copy. Email me.
I wish there was an edit button here. I meant to include an article about Foucault, who it wouldn’t be beyond reasonable doubt, to think that Danneels and much of the modern Catholic Church would uphold as a guru of some sort: Read it and weep: https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/4/16/reckoning-with-foucaults-sexual-abuse-of-boys-in-tunisia. Of course many scholars try to explain this away – they have to, he is one of the main foundational theorists for current thinking about sex and sexuality. For him to be a ‘true paedophile’ would shake their self-righteous certainties to the ground. Interesting that Foucoult was raised Catholic. So many of our revolutionaries were. One has to ask: was he ‘abused’? There is so, so much more to this issue, it’s not just about a mere sin of the flesh. For example, see http://www.awrsipe.com/click_and_learn/2008-10-preliminary_considerations.html.
Ive heard the rumors about Foucault but is there actually evidence?
Thank you.
Hmmm….
National Catholic Register had this: https://www.ncregister.com/news/abuse-commission-of-church-in-germany-defends-citing-michel-foucault
NCR’s article explained that Germany’s RCC abuse Commission cited Foucault (I don’t know in what way), in a report in January 2021. At the end of March 2021, an American writer alleged Foucault’ abuse of minors. Foucault died in 1984.
This is too big a can of worms for me to find any clarity in it—-the report by Gremany’s abuse commission was intended for the Synod. The darkness increases by the day!
Unknown to me until today in searching for Foucault and RCC, this site intrigued me: https://catholiccritique.com/2024/09/08/from-creation-and-family-to-the-petri-dish/
Thank you so much meiron, I’ll look at those links a little later.
Foucault’s not my hero but I have heard that the evidence for his misdeeds wasn’t clear.
I have a fantasy dream now and again, it comes from the alternative history genre. I imagine the power for good the Church would be if abuse in its ranks didn’t exist since all had taken their calling seriously! What a lovely vision!!!
Sexual abuse of whatever kind isn’t just a «Catholic» matter, although the secularists would have you believe that to be the case.
In a land whose law allows «euthanasia» for young children the shock and horror from Belgium rings like a cracked bell.
The Holy Father deserves praise for actually setting foot in the country.
My dear friend, I thank you sincerely for the warm, honest, and deeply heartfelt tone of your comment. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! Your humility is undoubtedly the result of a special grace.
Just this morning, I too received a “confession” from an elderly person about a tragic case of abuse by a laywoman, the head of a boarding school, and unfortunately, it wasn’t an isolated case.
I see a bright aspect in your spiritual life (“I haven’t completely given up”), and I am convinced that your prayer is a particularly precious good work.
Even though priests are endowed with a special holiness by virtue of the character imprinted on their souls on the day of their ordination, they are not immune to the temptations of the evil one. When Saint Thomas Aquinas asks why Jesus allowed Himself to be tempted, he replies that He did so “for our instruction: so that no one, no matter how holy, should believe they are secure or immune from temptation. And for this reason, He wanted to be tempted right after baptism: because, as He says to Saint Hilary, ‘the devil launches his attacks especially against the saints, for a victory over them is more coveted'” (In Mt 3).
That’s why the Holy Scriptures tell us: “My child, if you come forward to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for temptation” (Sirach 2:1) (Summa Theologica, III, 41, 1).
Alexis Carrel, a Nobel Prize-winning doctor who converted to Christianity after witnessing a miraculous event at Lourdes, once said that “prayer is the most powerful form of energy we can generate.”
After yet another scandal involving priests—something you document in your comment in such a timely and painful way—may the Lord stir in you the desire to pray for them! It is the Lord who “works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose” (Philippians 2:13).
By responding to this call, it is as if you are opening the door to the Lord, who then enters your life once again. Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus was right when she said that one well-received grace is followed by many others.
There are many types of temptations that priests face. I will mention just one: the danger of becoming desensitized to what they do. Priests, accustomed to being in church and moving around the altar, can sometimes lose the sense of the greatness of their mission.
I am part of a Padre Pio prayer group, to whom I am devoted, and whose feast day we celebrated on September 23. Here are some of the instructions Padre Pio gave to one of his spiritual daughters: “Enter the church in silence and with great respect, considering yourself unworthy to appear before the Majesty of the Lord.”
Priests enter the church continuously for many reasons. The risk is that they may not even think about standing in the presence of the Majesty of the Lord.
Padre Pio also wrote to the same person: “When leaving the church, have a calm and collected demeanor: first, greet Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, ask Him for forgiveness for the failings committed in His divine presence, and do not leave Him until you have asked for His fatherly blessing.”
Entering and exiting continuously, a priest may be tempted to forget the profound significance of those moments both for himself and for the faithful entrusted to him. If a priest lives in this awareness, his life becomes a continuous blessing from the Lord for him and a blessing from him to his people.
In a letter sent to his spiritual director, Padre Pio wrote: “Pietrelcina, April 7, 1913. My dearest father, on Friday morning I was still in bed when Jesus appeared to me. He was all battered and disfigured. He showed me a great multitude of regular and secular priests, among whom were several ecclesiastical dignitaries. Some were celebrating, some were vesting, and some were unvesting from their sacred garments. The sight of Jesus in such agony caused me great sorrow, and I wanted to ask Him why He was suffering so much. I received no answer. Instead, His gaze turned toward those priests; but shortly afterward, almost horrified and as if tired of looking, He withdrew His gaze. When He raised His eyes back to me, with great horror, I noticed two tears running down His cheeks. He turned away from that crowd of priests with an expression of great disgust on His face, and shouted: ‘Butchers!’
And then, turning to me, He said: ‘My son, do not think that My agony lasted for three hours, no; I shall be in agony until the end of the world because of the souls I have benefitted most, and they repay me with ingratitude. During the time of My agony, My son, one must not sleep. My soul seeks some consolation from human pity, but alas, I am left alone under the weight of indifference. The ingratitude and slumber of My ministers make My agony even heavier. Oh, how poorly they respond to My love! What afflicts Me most is that they add their disdain and disbelief to their indifference. Many times I was ready to strike them down, but I was held back by the angels and by the souls who love Me. Write to your spiritual father and tell him what you have seen and heard from Me this morning. Ask him to show your letter to the Provincial Father.’”
This vision of Padre Pio is truly dramatic and gives much to reflect on. Let us continue—or begin—to pray fervently for priests so that they may be fully aware of their vocation and of the holy realities they are ministers of.
In proportion to our prayers, the Lord will bless us more and more. I thank you deeply because I know you will include me—a poor sinner—in your prayers. I wish you all the best!
Thank you Paolo. I appreciate your response.