In the wake of the sexual abuse crisis, the Church in Italy is expecting “tens of thousands” of faithful to gather in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday in a show of support and solidarity with the Holy Father, and for the purification of the Church.
Lay groups and families from dioceses up and down the country are expected to gather in the square from 11am, an hour before Pope Benedict XVI recites the Regina Coeli. They will be led in prayer by Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, president of the Italian bishops’ conference.
“We expect lay groups and individual families to come from all over Italy by bus, train or other means, each group organizing themselves to participate in the Regina Coeli,” said Paola Dal Toso, Secretary General of Italy’s National Advisory Council of Lay Groups (CNAL), a coordinating body of 68 movements and associations from every corner of Italy.
In a statement, CNAL said those participating “intend to place in the hands of Mary our fidelity to the Holy Father for the good of the Church in which we experience mercy, the only adequate response to the need for justice which emerges from the heart of each person at this time.”
Cardinal Bagnasco has thanked the organizers, saying that such a spontaneous initiative of the laity represents a “genuine sensus fidei [sense of the faithful] of Christians who know well where they are and who to follow.”
He told today’s Avvenire newspaper: “The people appreciate what this Pope is doing for the Church and intend to express their closeness, not because Benedict XVI feels intimidated, alone or in danger, but because they want, with this simple gesture, to immediately join themselves with the work of self-purification of the Church which is always necessary and urgent today.”
Asked what makes this gesture unique, Cardinal Bagnasco replied: “I hope that it’s primarily a sign for all believers. Certainly it will serve to rediscover the unity of the Church around Peter.”
The initiative also has the strong backing of Rome’s mayor, Gianni Alemanno, whose office has set up a Facebook page called “Rome for the Pope!” appealing to all Romans to become involved. Alemanno said: “I support this initiative as a believer and as mayor of Rome, a city that has a special bond of gratitude and devotion to the Holy Father to whom we wish to witness our support and filial affection at a time of difficulty for the Church.”
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God bless His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI & long may he reign…Thank you to Rome & its wonderful people! G. Boos
Is our harsh winter in the church leading to a springtime of renewal? Back in the long, dark, cold days I wrote a comment in which I said that the sexual abuse crisis, with its concomitant attack on the Pope and the church by the media, was a time of sifting the wheat from the tares. The absolutely awful revelations of what some clergy had done to defile and wound the young people in their care showed the presence of active evil at the heart of the church, and on the hands of those from whom we receive the sacraments, including the Body and Blood of the Lord. The pope has recently described this as “horrifying.” That is not hyperbole. It was reported that Catholics in Germany were rushing to sign off their membership in the church, while old ladies here in the U.S. were quoted on the front pages of the Times as losing their faith. This is where the sifting comes in. Appalling as those lewd priests are, they are not representative of all priests or the whole church. At the same time that we must act forcefully against those men and seek healing for those they have harmed, we must also recognize and support the good priests who work among us and honor the church as a whole. Those who use the abuse crisis as an excuse to be so scandalized that they cannot recognize the goodness of the church seem to me to be the type who have kept the stones in their hands, ready to throw, at the first real opportunity. We have to look beyond the few men who have sinned so egregiously and make the effort to recognize and appreciate the goodness and holiness of the church and most of her members, including—and especially—Pope Benedict. With this rally in Italy, people are ready to recognize, and give voice to, what we used to call Holy Mother the Church. To whom else shall we go? Those who have turned away and abandoned her in this hour of need, to whom shall they go? If we love the Faith that has come down to us from the Apostles, the first witnesses of God’s love for us in the face of Christ, then we should rally for the church, not throw rocks at her.
I really do believe that the biggest majority of Catholics KNOW that we have good priests and the pedophiles are a very, very small minority. Most are more disappointed in the hierarchy and how they handled it. If handled correctly, it could have been stopped many years ago. Who knows, maybe God is using his Church to stop this pedophilia which is in every neighborhood,in every school system and in every children organizations. The Church certainly has gotten enough publicity. The media may mention one case in the school system or other church, but the whole Catholic Church is being crucified for a few bad eggs. “Whatever you do to the least of My brother, you do unto Me”—-[The LEAST being children]———‘God works in mysterious ways’
I really think you are right about this, Sue, that most Catholics do know we have good, devoted priests. And, yes, the hierarchy is really a big part of the problem. Look at what we are learning about Cardinal Sodano—there is a long trail of disgusting behavior attached to this man. Cardinal Law—look at him and the abuse he fostered during his career. If he had been a really spiritual person, he would have turned down JP’s offer to have a fancy life in Rome and, instead, set an example by retiring to a monastery to pray. Even when the Irish bishops went to Rome to meet with the Pope, they had the usual deluxe treatment when a more austere setting would have been far more appropriate. Marcial kept himself safe from scrutiny for decades thanks to the cloud of money he was able to pour out on archbishops and cardinals. If Jesus could come back among us, like he appeared to the Apostles after the resurrection a few times, and summon these cardinals to appear before him one by one to make an account of themselves for work done in His name, I bet we would experience a revolution of change in the way the church does things. I just can’t get over how far away the hierarchy seems to have moved from the Christian message we pew sitters hear in the Scripture readings every Sunday. I love the Church, which I do believe is one, holy and apostolic, and I love this pope. But there aren’t many cardinals’ rings I would bother to kiss.
Susanne pretty well described the Bishops of Dante’s Inferno. Riding on the backs of they Useful Idiots who chose to look away. I feel God has a hand here to bring out this terrible pediophilic dynasty that hurts whatever it touches and wherever it is found. This might be the skullery work needed to clean up a dirty mess.
Otto
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