In a recent address to participants at a safeguarding conference in Panama, Pope Francis emphasized the Church’s duty to confront and dismantle the systems that shield abusers, particularly those who exploit their positions of authority to commit acts of abuse.
“Our work must aim to eradicate situations that protect those who hide behind their position to impose themselves on others in a perverse way,” he said, highlighting the importance of accountability in the Church.
The pontiff’s message focused on broadening the discourse around abuse to include not only sexual but also abuses of power, authority, conscience, and spirituality.
Pope Francis urged a reevaluation of how power and authority are handled within the Church, advocating for a shift towards prioritizing the vulnerable and marginalized over the powerful and learned. He argued for a “change of mindset with regard to our concept of relationships,” stressing the significance of God’s grace.
Pope Francis also addressed the need for the Church to understand and remedy the underlying issues that enable abusers, saying, the Church “cannot be indifferent to the reasons why some people accept to go against their own conscience.” He called for efforts to form mature, coherent individuals capable of resisting evil and upholding truth, saying that a society lacking moral integrity is fundamentally ill.
During the conference, titled “Vulnerability and Abuse: Toward a Wider View of Prevention,” the Pope’s reflections extended to the societal implications of failing to address the root causes of abuse, including the perpetuation of selfishness, distrust, fear, and deceit.
Pray for an end to abuse!
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