VATICAN CITY (CWN) – It was no coincidence that the sex abuse scandal struck during a year set aside for celebration of the priesthood, Pope Benedic XVI told 15,000 priests at a Mass in St Peter’s Square concluding the Year for Priests.
The Year for Priests was dedicated to a spiritual revival of the clergy,
the Pope said in his homily. “It was to be expected,” he said, “that
this new radiance of the priesthood would not be pleasing to the Enemy.”
Thus it was not surprising, the Pope reasoned, that during the year “the
sins of priests came to light – particularly the abuse of little ones.”
The Pope said that the Church must “insistently beg forgiveness from God
and from the persons involved, while promising to do everything
possible to ensure that such abuse will never occur again.” He called
for vigilance in the training and supervision of future priests, and
emphasised the importance of discipline within the Church:
“The Church too must use the shepherd’s rod, the rod with which he
protects the faith against those who falsify it, against currents which
lead the flock astray,” he said.
“The use of the rod can actually be a service of love. Today, we can see
that it has nothing to do with love when conduct unworthy of the
priestly life is tolerated.
“Nor does it have to do with love if heresy is allowed to spread and the
faith twisted and chipped away, as if it were something that we
ourselves had invented.”
At the same time, while acknowledging the sins of some priests, the Pope
said that the scandal should give the faithful a new perspective on the
great gift of the priesthood. “Had the Year for Priests been a
glorification of our individual human performance, it would have been
ruined by these events,” he said. But, in fact, the revelations of
priests’ weaknesses is a reminder that God serves the Church, and makes
Himself available to the world through the ministry of weak and fallen
human persons.
The priesthood, Pope Benedict said, is a demonstration of the “audacity
of God who entrusts Himelf to human beings,” fully realising their
weakness.
God’s astonishing confidence in man comprises “the true grandeur
concealed in the word ‘priesthood,’” the Pontiff said.
“The world’s religions, as far as we can see, have always known that in
the end there is only one God. But this God was distant,” the Pope
continued. Through the priestly ministry, God becomes immediately
present to his creatures.
Therefore a Catholic priest is “no mere office-holder” but a direct
participant in Christ’s saving action.
Pope Benedict delivered his homily on the priesthood at a Mass that
closed the observances of the Year for Priests.
This year coincided with the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the
death of St John Vianney, the Curé of Ars, who was frequently cited by
the Pope this year as a model of priestly dedication. As he celebrated
the Mass, the Pope used the chalice that once belonged to the French
saint.