* Episcopal Conference against pedophilia
* The recovery of dignity and confidence
The request for forgiveness from the Colombian Episcopal Conference a few days ago, in the face of the extremely painful practice of pedophilia by priests over a long period of time, is of course in the line determined by Pope Francis as an imperative global resolution, including hierarchies when it has been the case.
It is not in vain that conduct like this supposes in fact the absolute contradiction of the values that are intended to be inculcated, based on the ancient doctrine according to which one’s life must try to reflect itself in the example of Jesus Christ (beyond the liturgies and formal ecclesial structures ). And therefore it is even implausible to have to argue that priestly pedophilia inflicts a fatal injury on the core of the Christian essence. Even more, violating that always valid admonition of Christ to “let the children come to me” which, among the very few times he spoke verbatim, carries an unequivocal sign of protection, benevolence, joy, wealth and vocation for the future of humanity. . In short, childhood as an unavoidable factor of hope, an emblem of innocent dignity and of course protected instead of being subjected to leering motives by those who are called to shelter it.
For its part, the priesthood, as has been recounted by the same protagonists on so many occasions, is not a trade, nor a profession, but obeys an attribute, sometimes sudden, even of a supernatural nature, which above all implies functioning in a highly demanding spiritual environment of commitment. In this case, within the trajectory of the Catholic collective often overwhelmed (even more today) by the incisive materialism that is the order of the day. In other words, it is a question of invoking the transcendent character of existence and generating the corresponding pedagogy and practice wisely and correctly. And whose foundation does not consist in great theological preaching, in the accumulation of bulls, encyclicals or sermons, so to speak, but in the essential and apparently simple support of loving God above all things and your neighbor as yourself. Which, after all, and as we have said on other occasions, is both the concrete basis of Christianity and the evangelizing creed of Catholicism within its universal projection. And, in this sense, it is also the basic premise that should shape, more truly, priestly activity outside of which no one can call himself a priest, much less when causing such tragic and irreversible damage to others, not even in the midst of called current vocational crisis.
Because it may be that as a result of those negligent efforts, those who beforehand and, sometimes because they have suffered the same thing, have pedophilic inclinations, find a breeding ground for their tendencies in the natural orbit of the Church’s activities. However, any laxity in the matter has no justification, much less corporate permissiveness, nor elastic regulations, nor cronyism disguised as kindness, which only greatly surprise and alarm parishioners and at the same time demoralize so many priests who well act.
It goes without saying, of course, that from a legal point of view, pedophilia consists of a typical, unlawful and guilty conduct, belonging to the criminal sphere and whose compensation is for the entire Colombian society, Catholic or non-Catholic. The Church is right not to claim any immunity in this regard and to get rid of any caveat on the matter, even if the harmful phenomenon seems at the moment not to have the inconceivable dimension of other countries in which this decision has already been implemented.
In any case, with just one victim, the Catholic body is deeply wounded, which is why the Colombian parishioners, in keeping with the attitude of the prelature, hope that the recomposition within the Church will be carried out urgently, both under the duty to compensate and in what is possible to recover the many affected after such damage as ensuring that acts like this never happen again. It is very sad to read or hear how they themselves do not even feel like victims, but just survivors adrift in a situation that is clearly unfair, mediated by aggression or trickery and without the slightest qualms about their constant denials.
It is noteworthy, then, that the Conference has put aside secrecy and incomprehensible obstacles. There are no dilemmas. It is a matter of rigorously fulfilling the course of what was promised, with all the pertinent guarantees and information, and freeing the Church from the accommodating and shameful transcript in which some around the world (as here too) tried to strangle it at the cost of dignity and trust.