Props for the pope
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- April
- 18
I just had a wonderful conversation with Sister Theresa Rickard, a member of the Dominican Sisters of Blauvelt, who wrote in an April 15 Community View, “Pope Benedict XVI: Messenger of Hope,” in anticipation of the pope’s historic visit.
In her Community View, she wrote: “Of course, the Catholic Church itself is in need of renewed hope, particularly in the wake of the hurt from the sexual abuse scandal, the closing of parishes and schools, and the recent surveys indicating the diminishing number of young adults participating in the life of the church.”
Sister Rickard called yesterday, to follow up.
“I think what he needed to do, and he did it, was to address the American clergy sexual abuse issue — and not just once,” said Sister Rickard, who is executive director of RENEW International, a nonprofit that fosters spiritual renewal in the Catholic tradition.
The healing of Benedict’s repeated discussions, expressions of remorse, and admissions that the Church had failed the victims of abuse, were invaluable, Sister Rickard said. She noted that even though the church has now put various programs in place. “until you can really name it, and claim it,” she said, the healing can’t really begin. “To rebuild trust is going to take a really long time. Maybe it’s a new beginning that the pope has admitted the shame and the pain … that the victims have been through.”
This entry was posted
on Friday, April 18th, 2008 at 2:24 pm by Nancy Cutler.
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