Peter’s Pence Collection
Archbishop Pietro Sambi
The Apostolic Nunciature, the Holy See
3339 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20008
Dear Archbishop Sambi:
Enclosed you’ll find a U.S. penny—one cent—as my contribution to the Pope’s Peter’s Pence collection. The Pope’s charities in lands far, far away are worthy of support, but I believe there are more pressing needs here in the U.S.
My lowly penny has two lofty messages—In God We Trust and we value Abraham Lincoln’s honesty. With this penny I intend to make a statement: I am appalled at the Pope’s performance to date in addressing the clergy sex abuse scandal. The scandal and the failed attempts by the Pope and his bishops to keep this scandal under wraps and secret from Catholic donors worldwide are unprecedented. Selling indulgences pales in comparison to the rapes and molestations–soul murder–of tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of innocent children worldwide by priests, brothers, and nuns of the Institutional Church.
The crimes against innocent children and the clumsy attempts at cover up by Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have been well documented for more than 25 years by newspapers, television, and cable networks, and on the World Wide Web. Thirty million American Catholics have left the church. Yet Pope Benedict seems to be blind and deaf to these facts.
It seems that the Pope places his highest priority on saving his personal reputation, the reputation of his predecessor, and the reputation of the Institution. He and his closest advisors focus, it seems, in a few transparent, carefully orchestrated events in which the Pope meets with a handful of victims and then tells us through the media how much he feels the victims’ pain.
And then there are the endless words, words, words and apologies, apologies, and apologies. It’s as if words and apologies will make the extended nightmare go away and hasten the sunrise of the following morning. But it just doesn’t work that way.
I and many others await meaningful, concrete actions of real reform, not more papal words and apologies. Cardinal Bernard Law sits in a place of high honor in Rome. The Pope can start by ridding himself and all of us of this fire-engine red symbol of mindless papal loyalty.
The Pope ignores, it seems, the command of the Good Samaritan parable to be a good neighbor to the abused person who lies at the side of the road from Jerusalem to Jericho (Luke 10:30) stripped of his/her clothes, beaten, and half dead.
So rather than give to the Pope’s worthy charities in Kenya, Bosnia, and Rwanda, I’ll apply the common sense principle that charity begins at home. Thus, instead of giving to the Pope’s worthy charities, I will give to U.S. non-profits that act like the Good Samaritan and minister to abuse victims/survivors. Because of the life-long effects of childhood abuse, water and wine need to be poured out (Luke 10: 34) onto abuse victims/survivors for their entire lives, and there are proven U.S. non-profits who specialize in doing just that.
If BP must compensate those who have been harmed by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, shouldn’t the Universal Church—Pope, bishops, priests, all of us—compensate abuse victims/survivors?
