Cardinal Schonbörn and Wir sind Kirche, the lay reform group in Austria last night held a penitential service in St Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna. (from Die Presse, Der Standard, and n-tv).
3000 entered a cathedral darkened except for the candles of the victims around the altar. Cardinal Schonbörn entered clad all in black, except for his red cardinal’s cap. He sat under a crucifix of the tortured Son of God, and all his body language spoke of humility, sorrow, and acknowledgment of guilt.
The Cursing Psalms were read:
“I will pour forth my anger, my scorn, my hate before you. I wish upon him poison and gall, he shall be blind, starving, and lonely. God, do you not see my helplessness?”
Heavy drum roll.
Schönborn says nothing for this is the time for the victims to speak: One cried out
“Night after night the memories come back, like howling dogs. I cannot cope with them.”
Another accused his tormentor: “From him nothing shall remain, his name extinguished. Strike it out of the Book of Life.”
Drum roll.
It continued:
The student in a girls’ boarding school, who with head shaved bald and in a straight jacket lay in her own excrement, who at the point of a cane held by a nun had to clean herself up.
The far-too-premature boy, who through the love of his parents developed so well that he could study theology – and after sexual abuse by a priest mentally fell back to a four-year-old level.
The pedophile pastor, who despite the pleas of a mother of one of his victims was after a year’s pause sent into other parishes.
Drum roll.
Schonbörn at last spoke
“We acknowledge that we would not recognize the truth, that we have covered up and given false witness.”
I have often wondered why abusers and bishops did not fear the curses of victims. God hears the cry of the oppressed and vindicates them His wrath will fall upon those who tormented children and on those who stood by and let the children be tormented. Their names will be blotted out of the book of life – don’t they fear that? Perhaps they do not fear God’s wrath because they do not believe He exists – maybe that is what Benedict meant when he said a lack of faith was the source of the abuse and the enabling of the abuse. How many abusers, how many bishops are at heart atheists? How else to explain what they did?
It’s too bad that Cardinal Schonbron seems to have an attraction to the dubious (in my opinion) Medjugorje revelations. If it were not for that, I would say he clearly should be the next Pope. I wonder if the College would accept two German speakers (and three Central Europeans) in a row, however?
This is what the Church needs in every parish. Next Sunday we will celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday. Why not designate a Day of Contrition in which the universal Church- the Holy Father, the Bishops, the laity- asks forgiveness from victims of abuse and from Almighty God through a similar penance service? There will be the inevitable cynic who will absolve himself of culpability but when one member of the Body of Christ sins, the entire body is wounded.
Bishops Who Get It - Ross Douthat Blog - NYTimes.com
[…] from Leon Podles, author of “Sacrilege: Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church,” here’s an account of […]
I saw the words “This is what the Church needs in every parish” and couldn’t remain silent. I think we will be waiting a long time if we wait for church leaders to lead the way. Who changed the Church in his day — St. Francis or Pope Innocent III? It is time for ordinary Catholics to do the work that needs to be done ourselves. We can listen and care for survivors ourselves. I believe. Church leadership will see the good we do and follow in time. We have done this in my parish in Portland, Oregon, in a small group we call Compassionate Gathering. We listen to and support survivors and have facilitated apology and reconciliation between survivors and Church.
Back in 2002, and elderly woman said to me in response to the sex abuse revelations: “Those bishops have acted like there’s never going to be a Last Judgement.” The atheist concept fits right in. They’re just riding a really good gig – lots of sex and money in the celibate simple life of the priesthood.
Don’t forget that a Vatican exorcist recently said that satanism is common at the Vatican. Malachi Martin also had no love lost for the Vatican. Perhaps we can start believing these people?
I can not stand Cardinal Schonbörn.
Is just a pose and nonsense.
What we need is those bishops who did not act when victims came to then to resign.
Tony, I think you’re right. I’m wondering if Schoenborn is doing this just to save his episcopal posterior. God wants actions, not just words. Unfortunately, the ecclesiastical system is so rife with clericalism — and so many Catholics are de facto clericalists, themselves — that the institutionl bureaucracy will resist any substantial change.
Thank you for this post on the penitential service and Cardinal Schönborn. The trusting children who were abused are not only as victims, they are martyrs. Their trusting faith was attacked, abused, and often fatally wounded. The Lord himself curses this harm (Matt 18) in the most forceful terms. Their voice needs to be heard and inscribed in the memory of the church.
This penitential liturgy seems right.