Subscribe to my Feed
« How will the next President handle reconstruction in Iraq? | Home | New York Times “Social Q’s” apology advice misses the mark »
How effective was the Pope’s apology in Australia?
By Lauren | July 20, 2008
Pope Benedict XVI made headlines yesterday with the apology he delivered in Australia. The Pope expressed deep and personal sorrow and regret for the suffering of children who endured sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic clergy. It was by far the most direct and heartfelt apology I can remember any Pope making to the victims of clergy sexual abuse, and I have no doubt His Holiness sincerely meant every word of it.
So, why are the victims less than impressed?
The answer, I think, boils down to “too little, too late.” Clergy sexual abuse of minors is not a new issue – victims and their families have been pressing for decades to raise public awareness, get restitution and, most important, prevent future abuse. I strongly suspect that those people have waited far too long to be satisfied with a simple “I’m sorry,” no matter how sincere. Yes, Pope Benedict is relatively new to his office, but he’s the head of an institution that has failed to apologize for a very long time.
Not only that, the Pope offered neither a specific promise to compensate the victims of past abuse nor a plan to stop the abuse from recurring. The apology itself was beautifully worded and powerfully delivered, but far less effective than it would have been if supported by a specific, trustworthy promise for genuine change.
In the interests of full disclosure, let me say that I’m not Catholic and I look at Pope Benedict as a public figure, not as my personal spiritual leader. Thus far, I’ve been favorably impressed with him as the Vatican’s primary ambassador, and I don’t want to even suggest that the Catholic Church is uniquely at fault with respect to clergy abuse, because it’s not. But I do hope that His Holiness won’t stop at words, but will follow up with action to protect children from future abuse. It’s the only way his apology will truly be effective.
Topics: Apologies, Social Ethics |
July 21st, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Hi Lauren,
As an Australian living overseas, I usually follow events back home with keen interest, but I’m afraid I haven’t really been following the Pope’s apology that much.
I think he did the right thing to make the apology, and I read today that he did actually meet with some of the victims - a gesture of sincerity of the apology.
Child abuse is a major problem within churches (as well as a range of other places) and children must be protected at all costs.
Cheers
Andrew