THIS WRITER was invited to the Vatican in September 2015 to assist in drafting for Pope Francis the Plan of Action on child protection during a five-day international symposium. There, in a conference center overlooking St. Peter’s Square, 42 delegates from every continent drafted what would be an instruction from the pontiff on the protection and care of abandoned and abused children, street people, and migrants.
It was a challenging task. After it was done, it was presented to Pope Francis. He personally greeted the 42 delegates one by one, including this writer. This strong, inspiring document was accepted and endorsed by the pope: every child must be protected by all, especially the Church.
This applies to the Archdiocese of Cebu, where several priests are named in BishopAccountability.org’s recently launched database of clerics accused or convicted of abuse. Should they not stand trial?
The archdiocese chancery seems to believe so. It released a statement, quoting Jesus in the Good News Translation of Matthew 18:6–7: “If anyone should cause one of these little ones to lose his faith in me, it would be better that a millstone be tied around his neck and he be drowned in the deep sea.”
That is a strong statement calling for the accountability of abusers. But the passage used by the archdiocese is a misleading translation. It should be: “If anyone should cause any of these little ones who believe in me to sin….”
The passage above marks the innocent child as a sinner. How can a child be branded as such when Jesus of Nazareth identified himself with the children and stood by them when he said: “Whoever welcomes in my name one such child as this, welcomes me.” (Matthew 18:5).
Being faithful to the clear, unequivocal words of Jesus, we must welcome the innocent child as the one sinned against and bring the sinner to justice.
Bishops must also be held accountable, as Pope Francis said in “Vos estis lux mundi.” This was acknowledged by Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David when he was quoted as saying: “The Pope himself has been more decisive in his moves to impose disciplinary action on us bishops if he finds evidence that we’re not even lifting a finger to discipline our erring priests.”
“Of course, we’re not always successful in this regard, and we need the help and participation of our lay people, including our professional journalists, who are our allies in the quest for truth and fact-checking and the battle against disinformation. Let’s keep the bridges open among ourselves,” he said./PN
