The church must address the spiritual impact of the sexual abuse crisis and the necessary reparations, highlighting the need to honor and support victims and restore faith among deeply shaken Christian communities. France has launched a conference in Rome titled “Repairing the Unrepairable,” said the pastor of the Palais-le-Monial Basilica in the east.
Listening to the voices of victims and supporting them on a psychological, financial and legal level is “absolutely necessary, but it is not enough.” Some are calling on the Church to respect the clearly spiritual aspect of reparations, because of the fact that the victims have been given the right to do so,” Father Etienne Kahn said. lacroixJill Donada spoke about the purpose of the conference in an interview.
Participants at a conference held in Rome from May 1 to 5 are considering appropriate spiritual responses and reparations to sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. What is the appropriate spiritual response to the abuse crisis in the church? A question posed at the conference.
La Croix: Repairing the irreparable… What kind of reparations are you talking about?
Father Etienne Kahn: The October 2021 CIASE report revealed the extent of sexual abuse in the French Catholic Church. This was followed by the establishment of an independent National Recognition and Reparation Authority to listen to victims and support them on psychological, economic and legal levels. This is absolutely necessary, but not sufficient. Some victims ask the Church to honor reparations on an explicitly spiritual level, since their souls have also been harmed.
What form will this compensation take?
I hope this conference provides answers without falling into spiritualization. Our goal is to share our beliefs and provide spiritual and practical guidance to help you develop this spiritual aspect that you currently feel inadequate. It is about respecting this aspect by caring for the victims, nurturing and strengthening Christians who remain deeply shaken and scandalized. As pastor of the Basilica of Paraille-le-Monial, I believe that this is a special place of comfort for the victims, and that devotion to the heart of Jesus can illuminate a spiritual and restorative approach for all Christians. I’m confident.
how?
The word “atonement” is clearly used during the apparition of Christ to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. In an age characterized by Jansenism, which depicts God as a ruthless judge, and intellectualism, which despises faith in the name of reason, the Lord reveals His heart and reaffirms His love. God expresses his bitterness at not receiving his love for us in return and complains about our ingratitude and indifference. He is referring to the blasphemy committed by those consecrated to the Lord, especially priests, against the Eucharist, the “sacrament of love.” There are references to the poisoning incident and the first black mass celebrated during the reign of Louis his 14th.
At the Great Apparition of the Sacred Heart in June 1675, Christ sought reparation for these sins, especially through the institution of the Feast of the Sacred Heart, frequent communion, and adoration of the Eucharist. The 19th century’s emphasis on the penitential aspect of reparations, even a certain pathos, contributed to its obsolescence in the 20th century, but its value and relevance in light of recent scandals It didn’t last until it was rediscovered.
“To paraphrase Pope Francis, we are all affected by this culture of abuse, whether we want to or not.”
What do you think is the relationship between the reparations emphasized in the Adoration of the Sacred Heart and current events?
The complaint of victims of abuse is the same complaint that Jesus made to Margaret Mary Alacoque. Jesus was angry at his desecration of his sacramental body. He is also angry about sexual assault against the most vulnerable. Didn’t God say that what we do to the least of them, we do to Him as well? It is also alarming that abuse frequently occurs in the context of sacraments related to Mass and Confession. Pope Francis has spoken of the “blasphemy” and “betrayal of the Body of the Lord” by abusive priests, comparing their actions to a “black mass.” That is why we cannot help but think that the message of the Palais le Monial has something to say to the Church on these issues, even if everything is not yet clear. This is exactly why the conference is held.
The CIASE report revealed the systematic aspects of the abuses that took place. No one is outside or above the problem. To paraphrase Pope Francis, we are all affected by this culture of abuse, whether we want to or not. Therefore, many of the speakers at this conference, myself included, belong to congregations and communities that have been involved in some way in the scandal. No one is immune, I am no more immune than others. But another movement begins from within.
What kind of movement?
At the time of their exile, Jews turned to God in epic prayers of redemption, expressing their shame and begging God’s forgiveness and mercy. What we see in St. Thérèse of Lisieux and St. Faustina, the apostle of God’s mercy, is the humility of a “broken heart” before God. A personal anecdote: At the time of the so-called “Barbaric Case” (named after the Archbishop of Lyon, who was accused of failing to report an abusive priest before being acquitted in court), I lived in Aix-en-London. – He was a parish priest in Provence. . I was struck by the eagerness of the parishioners to attend the restoration service period that we proposed at the time. It was as if Christians, shaken by scandal, knelt before God, prayed for His mercy, and intuited the need to mend God’s broken hearts. To give love to love.
