Pope Francis remembers the moment he woke up to the problem of abuse
Francis talks about his “conversion” regarding the issue of abuse in the Church and comments on two recently accused celebrities.
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In an extensive interview with Associated Press, published on January 25, 2023, Pope Francis explained how he experienced a “moment of conversion” on the issue of abuse in the Church during his 2018 trip to Chile. He also commented on two significant allegations of abuse that have surfaced in recent months.
The first is the case of East Timorese Nobel Peace Prize laureate Bishop Carlos Ximenes Bela, and the second is the Slovenian Jesuit artist Father Marko Rupnik, whose paintings can be found in churches all over the world.
“Wake up” call.
Pope Francis explained that he had a “conversion” on the issue of abuse when he returned from a trip to Chile in 2018 after defending a bishop who failed to take action against a priest who abused many minors.
“I couldn’t believe it. You were the one on the plane who told me, ‘No, it’s not like that, Father,'” Pope Francis said in the interview, referring to persistently asked AP Vatican correspondent Nicole Winfield, during a press conference on the plane. She also did an interview on January 25.
“That’s when the bomb exploded,” continued the Pope, exploding with his hands. At that time, “I saw the corruption of many bishops,” he added. “You were there to witness that I had to wake up on my own because of the cases that were all covered up, right?”
The Pope was referring to the case of Juan Barros, who was appointed bishop in 2015 and has subsequently been defended by the Pope on various occasions.
“The day I get proof against Bishop Barros, I will see,” Francis told reporters when he arrived in Iquique in northern Chile during a visit there in January 2018.
Read how the case progressed here.
The case of Bishop Belo
From 1998 to 2002, Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo was the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Dili, the capital of East Timor in Southeast Asia. He was allowed to retire at the age of 54, almost 20 years earlier than the normal age, officially due to a health problem. He is known as an independence hero for his peaceful opposition to the Indonesian occupation of the country in the late 1900s and won the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.
September 2022 Dutch magazine revealed the stories of two victims who accused Bishop Bela of abuse in the 1990s. Shortly after the claims emerged, the Holy See said it had sanctioned the Timorese prelate in 2020 and then changed and strengthened its decisions in 2021. These restrictions included restrictions on his travel and work, a ban on voluntary contact with minors, interviews and travel to East Timor.
In an interview with the AP, the Pope said that this case “is a very old thing where this awareness of today was not there.” When the Dutch article came out, the Pope said: “Let them broadcast it, what you will, I will not hide it.”
“But these were decisions made 25 years ago when there was no such awareness,” he explained to the AP, suggesting that Bishop Bell may indeed have been allowed to retire early rather than face prosecution to avoid scandal . “But today there is complete transparency,” the Pope said.
Research published by a French dailyLa Croixon the same day as the AP interview, details the culture of silence in East Timor regarding the alleged abuses of Bishop Belo because of his reputation as an independence leader.
The example of Father Rupnik
Instead, accusations surrounding Slovenian Father Marko Rupnik surfaced in December 2022. Some Italian blogs reported that the famous Jesuit artist was accused of sexually, spiritually and psychologically abusing several consecrated women in the community he founded in Slovenia in the 1990s.
Father Rupnik is said to be close to Pope Francis. His works can be found in churches around the world, he often gave spiritual exercises and preached at retreats, including in the Vatican in 2020.
After the accusations were published, the Jesuits announced that there had been several complaints against the Slovenian priest, but they had not been investigated, as they had expired. The Society of Jesus also announced that Father Rupnik was briefly excommunicated in 2020 for absolving someone with whom he had sexual relations in confession, a crime that carries automatic excommunication. However, this was reversed after a month since he repented of his actions.
The Pope said that these revelations were a “very big surprise” and also a “wound” for him. But he insisted he had “nothing to do” with the case, other than to intervene in the proceedings and ensure the second set of charges would be heard by the same court as the first, so as not to let it all get “mixed up”.
The problem of “vulnerable adults”
In an interview with AP, Pope Francis also admitted that the Church must continue to act against the abuse of “vulnerable adults”. In a motu proprius published in 2019, the Pope legally expanded the definition of this category of people.
During the interview, he explained that “vulnerable adults” can be those who are weakened because they are “sick”, “have psychological disabilities”, are “dependent” or are victims of a “seductive” relationship.