Denver Catholic

2 AUGUST 28-SEPTEMBER 7, 2018 | DENVER CATHOLIC T hese past few weeks have been a time of great turmoil within the Church as the revelations about Archbishop McCarrick became public, the details of the horrifi c abuse that took place in Pennsylvania were published by the grand jury, and other instances of abuse became known. This gravely sinful behavior has struck me to the core and it has also signifi cantly damaged the credibility of those who failed to stop the sexual misdeeds of their clergy members. Last week, a few days after returning from my annual 8-day retreat, I issued a letter to the people of the archdiocese about the revelations involving Arch- bishop McCarrick. For those of you who have not yet seen that letter, which is the fruit of prayer and refl ection, this column features key excerpts from it. Information for reporting abuse is also included . As noted by Cardinal DiNardo, president of the U.S. bishops con- ference, the revelations about Arch- bishop McCarrick have caused both bishops and the laity "anger, sadness, and shame." Personally, I am deeply sorry that both laity and clergy have had to experience this type of betrayal. In response, I am asking every priest in the archdiocese to o er a Mass each month in repara- tion for the sexual sins committed by cardinals, bishops, priests, deacons and lay people, as well as to pray for healing for the victims of these sins. This Mass is to be announced publicly so the lay faithful can attend and o er prayers in reparation for these grave sins that have wounded so many, and for their own sins. During my retreat, my director encouraged me to pray with the calls of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Samuel. In praying with the call of Samuel, I was struck by the Lord's words to Samuel concerning Eli. The Lord told Samuel to tell Eli, "…I will fulfi ll against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house from beginning to end. And I tell him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons were blaspheming, and he did not restrain them. (1 Samuel 3: 12-13, emphasis added). Too many semi- narians, priests and bishops knew of Archbishop McCarrick's behavior and did not restrain him. Due to this, I call on the U.S. bish- ops' conference to ask for and allow an independent investigation that includes members of the lay faithful and those clergy who had nothing to do with the matter. Since the oversight of bishops and cardinals falls under the jurisdiction of Rome, I humbly ask Pope Francis to conduct an indepen- dent investigation as he did in Chile. Like Jesus weeping over Jerusa- lem, so have I wept for the Church and for the innocent victims. I remember when I visited Auschwitz for the fi rst time in 1988. As I walked with horror in my heart over the pal- pable evil present, pondering how human beings could do this to other human beings, I heard in prayer, "only Jesus Christ and he alone can redeem this evil." The same is true with the sexual abuse crisis of today, as well as with the emptying of our pews, and the abandonment of God by the world. So, what must we do? We must recognize that compla- cency about evil and sin is present both in the Church and the world and it has led us to where we are today. This culture of complacency among clergy and laity must come to an end! We have also failed to recognize that the spiritual battle is real. Some say the Lord has forsaken the Church, but this is not true. Rather, there are some within the Church who have forsaken Jesus and the Gospel and allowed the devil to advance. Pope Francis speaks often in his homilies of the devil and his workings. The devil is real and pulls us away from the ways of Jesus and the love of the Father. The devil uses confusion, chaos, discouragement and negative thinking to draw us away from Jesus. When one looks at salvation history one sees, beginning with Adam and Eve, moving through the Old and New Testaments, and down through the centuries to now, that it is human beings who abandon the ways of God. And when the ways of God are abandoned, God lets human beings go their own way and there are always dire consequences. Jesus tells his disciples in John 15 that "apart from me you can do nothing " and he further tells us that if we separate ourselves from the vine, Jesus, we will wither. Perhaps the reason for our empty pews, the sharp decline of the faith in Europe and the West, the decimation of many religious orders, and the sexual abuse crisis is that we are not attached to Jesus, the true vine. At the heart of this crisis today is a spiritual crisis in which people depend more on the solutions of men than on the Gospel and Jesus. The cost of discipleship is real and it includes dying to ourselves, a complete surrender to Jesus, who loves us and desires only our good and joy (Lk 9: 23-26; Lk 14: 25-35; Mt 16: 24; Jn 15:11). Thus, our response to this compla- cency must be a return to the ways of God, who lays out the path of grace that preserves us from the real dangers of sin and the attacks of the evil one. The Father has given us his son Jesus, the Beatitudes, the Gospels, the truth and his commandments out of love for us to keep us on the narrow way of love. He is merciful in all that he has given to us. Charity and truth must always go together. A disciple should never lead someone into sin or condone sin. Jesus never condoned sin! But rather, he taught that for the unrepentant, the consequence for doing so is hell (Mk 9:42, Lk 17: 1-4). Just as a parent pro- vides boundaries for their children for their own good and protection, so has the Lord provided for us. All of us within the Church, includ- ing the Holy Father, cardinals, bish- ops, priests, deacons, consecrated and laypersons need to examine our consciences and ask ourselves: Do I truly know, love and serve the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit? And do I follow the ways of Jesus or the ways of the world? In the formation of my conscience do I listen to the voice of God, the voice of the world, or my own voice, and do I test the voice I hear to make sure that it is in accord with the Gospel? Have I personally put my faith in Jesus Christ, and in this time of tribulation do I keep my eyes fi xed on "Jesus the leader and perfecter of faith" (Heb. 12: 2)? Do I know where I have come from; that God loves me and knew me before I was born (Ps. 139)? Do I know where I am going, that I am created for eternal life and to know the Father, as Jesus knows him (Jn. 8:14)? Do I truly believe that inti- macy with Jesus can heal the wounds of my sins, weakness, or brokenness? And fi nally, as Jesus so frequently reminds his disciples in John 14 and 15, those who love him keep the commandments, just as he kept the Father's commandments. Do I do that? On the practical level, the sta of the Archdiocese of Denver and I strive to make every e ort to ensure that such things do not occur here. Our preventative measures include: background checks, safe environment classes, mandatory reporter training, creating a conduct response team that is primarily made up of lay people, an annual independent audit of our abuse reporting structures, having a laywoman (Christi Sullivan, 303-715- 3241 or christi.sullivan@archden. org) serve as the director of our Safe Environment O¨ ce, which deals with all cases of any type of abuse against minors by clergy or laity, and provid- ing psychological screening for candi- dates for the priesthood. We also have a Victim's Assistance Coordinator, Jim Langley, Psy.D., who can be contacted at 720-239- 2832 or victim.assistance@archden. org. If anyone in the archdiocese has an abuse situation concerning any member of the clergy or a lay employee of the archdiocese with a minor or the elderly, they may con- tact one of them. For those situations involving inappropriate behavior by a priest with an adult, the O¨ ce of Priest Per- sonnel should be contacted at 720- 715-3197. Both Bishop Rodriguez and I take these matters with the utmost seriousness. Archbishop's Page Archbishop's Column Most Rev. Samuel J. Aquila Reparation, justice and fi delity must be our response Published by the Archdiocese of Denver, 1300 S. Steele St., Denver, CO 80210 Denver Catholic (USPS 557-020) is published bi-weekly, except monthly in January. Denver Catholic is printed by Prairie Mountain Publishing, LLC in Boulder. Periodical postage paid in Denver, CO. 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