Pope writes preface to abuse survivor’s story
Pope Francis has written the preface to a new book penned by a victim of clerical sexual abuse.
The book, I Forgive you, Father, was written by Daniel Pittet, a devout Catholic who met Pope Francis in 2015, and so moved him with his childhood story that the Pontiff agreed to write the book’s introduction.
Thanking Daniel for breaking down “the wall of silence that covered scandals and suffering, shedding light on a terrible dark area in the life of the Church”, the Pope writes: “How can a priest at the service of Christ and his Church cause so much harm? How can someone who devoted their life to lead children to God, end up instead to devour them in what I called ‘a diabolical sacrifice’ that destroys both the victim and the life of the Church? Some of the victims have been driven to suicide. These deaths weigh on my heart, on my conscience and that of the whole Church. To their families, I offer my feelings of love and pain and humbly, I ask forgiveness.”
Recalling his own Apostolic Letter, As a Loving Mother, of June 2016, the Pope reasserted that “our Church must take care and protect with special love the weak and the helpless as a loving mother”.
Inspired by Pittet’s example of forgiveness when the author ultimately met and interviewed his abuser after 40 years of silence, Pope Francis went on: “I’m very impressed by his words – ‘Many people fail to understand the fact that I do not hate him. I have forgiven him and I built my life on that forgiveness’.
“I pray for Daniel and for all those who, like him, were wounded in their innocence, may God lift them and heal them, and give us all his forgiveness and mercy.”
Pope lauded for stance on anti-Semitism
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has lauded Pope Francis for his outspoken denunciations of anti-Semitism and the Holy See’s commitment to the wellbeing of Jewish communities.
During an audience with Pope Francis on February 9, Jonathan A. Greenblatt, CEO of the US-based group which monitors anti-Semitism worldwide thanked the Pontiff for his stance and said the ADL shares his concerns for “the horrendous persecution of ethnic and cultural minorities, many of them Christians”.
“We are deeply troubled by the rise of violent extremism and of reactionary nationalism, including in the United States,” Mr Greenblatt continued. “The love of neighbour, enshrined in the book of Leviticus and considered the greatest commandment by both Jesus in the Gospels and Rabbi Akiva, seems to be in short supply.”
For his part, Pope Francis again vocally denounced anti-Semitism “in all its forms” as contrary to Christian principles, lamenting that it is still a widespread phenomenon. “I reaffirm that the Catholic Church feels particularly obliged to do all that is possible with our Jewish friends to repel anti-Semitic tendencies,” he assured.
Pope-Trump meeting mooted
Pope Francis may have his first meeting with US President Donald Trump in May, according to reports from Rome. Diplomatic sources have signalled that such a meeting will take place when President Trump travels to Italy to attend the May 26-27 G7 summit in Taormina, Sicily.
Given that Mr Trump’s predecessors, Barack Obama and George W. Bush used the occasion of their own attendances at what was then the G8 summit to visit Popes Benedict XVI and St John Paul II, a failure to do so on the part of Mr Trump could only be interpreted as a snub to Pope Francis.
The Holy See has not commented as yet on the possibility of a meeting between the two leaders.