Cardinal tells Pope: the Church is with you

BY ANNA ARCO
A SENIOR Vatican cardinal told Pope Benedict on Easter Sunday that the people of God would not be impressed by “idle chatter” in the light of the clerical sex abuse crisis.
Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican’s former secretary of state, departed from tradition to use the beginning of the Sunday Mass to defend the Pope. He told Benedict XVI that the Church stood behind him.
He said: “Today, through the means of me, the whole Church would like to wish you, in chorus, happy Easter beloved Holy Father, the Church is with you, with you are the cardinals your colleagues in the Roman Curia, with you the bishops who guide the 3,000 ecclesiastical areas and in which 400,000 priests generously serve the people of God in the parishes, the schools, the hospitals as they also serve the missions. And with them, the People of God, who do not let themselves be impressed by idle chatter.” The Pope was criticised in the media for upholding a Vati can decision not to address questions of the priestly abuse of minors during Holy Week or Easter celebrations.
Fr Rainero Cantalamessa, the papal preacher, apologised on Saturday for causing offence to Jewish people and victims of abuse after he came under fire for drawing a parallel between the media onslaught against the Church and anti-Semitism during his Good Friday homily.
Fr Cantalamessa pointed out that Holy Week and Passover fell at the same time this year. He said: “This pushes us to direct a thought to our Jewish brothers. They know from experience what it means to be victims of collective violence and also because of this they are quick to recognise the recurring symptoms. I received in this week the letter of a Jewish friend and, with his permission, I share here a part of it.
“I am following with indignation the violent and concentric attacks against the Church, the Pope and all the faithful by the whole world. The use of stereotypes, the passing from personal responsibility and guilt to a collective guilt remind me of the more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism. Therefore I desire to express to you personally, to the Pope and to the whole Church my solidarity as Jew of dialogue and of all those that in the Jewish world (and there are many) share these sentiments of brotherhood. Our Passover and yours are undoubtedly different, but we both live with Messianic hope that surely will reunite us in the love of our common Father. I wish you and all Catholics a Good Easter.’” During the Easter Triduum, bishops around the world apologised for clerical abuse. In Germany – where an abuse scandal unfolded in the beginning of the year – the bishops added a prayer for the victims of abuse and the repentance of abusers to the customary Good Friday prayers as well as preaching about clerical abuse of minors on Easter Sunday.
In Britain Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster drew a parallel in his Easter homily between the journey of contrition during Holy Week and the abuse scandal.
He said: “The serious sins committed within the Catholic community have been much talked about. For our part, we have been reflecting on them deeply, acknowledging our guilt and our need for forgiveness. This is the journey of Holy Week. Indeed, to appreciate the message of this great Christian feast we have to begin with a sense of our own sin and shame.” Cardinal Keith O’Brien of St Andrews and Edinburgh apologised to all who have suffered any abuse at the hands of anyone representing the Catholic Church. He said: “Crimes against children have indeed been committed and any Catholics who were aware of such crimes, and did not act to report them, bring shame on us all. We can take no comfort from the fact that only a small percentage of priests committed such crimes – the impact of their sinful acts is very large.
“Their actions harmed the lives of their victims, caused great hatred to be directed at their innocent brother priests and left ordinary Catholics demoralised and confused,” the cardinal said.