Priest Abuse

The words of apology by the Most Rev. Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin hit really close to home for me this week.

"No words of apology will ever be sufficient... One of the most heartbreaking aspects of the Report is that while Church leaders – Bishops and religious superiors - failed, almost every parent who came to the diocese to report abuse clearly understood the awfulness of what has involved. Almost exclusively their primary motivation was to try to ensure that what happened to their child, or in some case to themselves, did not happen to other children. Their motivation was not about money or revenge; it was quite simply about that most basic human sense of right and wrong and that basic Christian motivation of concern for others... The damage done to children abused by priests can never be undone. As Archbishop of Dublin and as Diarmuid Martin -- a person -- I offer to each and every survivor, my apology, my sorrow and my shame for what happened to them. I am aware however that no words of apology will ever be sufficient..."

No words of apology will ever be sufficient, no.

Yet, all we can do is pray -- for the victims, for their parents, for those heads of the Church who have had to deal with all of this fallout, and for the good priests out there who abide by their vows and live their lives in a holy and upstanding way. And yes, we have to pray even for the priest abusers who, in many cases, are very, very sick human beings. And finally, we must pray this never, ever happens again to another person.