On the plane from Lima to Rome on January 21st, Pope Francis asked forgiveness for offending the sex abuse victims and explained that when he said they had yet to provide “proof” for their accusations, he actually meant “evidence.”
He asked their pardon for what he said was felt as “a slap in the face” to the victims.
That apology apparently was not sufficient to quell the strident voices which have judged Bishop Barros guilty without evidence and want him summarily punished.
Pope Francis has staunchly defended Bishop Barros and revealed that at his personal direction investigations had been carried out more than once into the accusations against him.
These investigation did not produce any evidence with which to condemn or punish the Bishop.
Since there were no findings of proof against Bishop Barros, Pope Francis has said that he is personally convinced that Bishop Barros is innocent.
This latest unexpected decision to send Archbishop Scicluna to open yet another investigation is quite obviously a move by the Vatican to provide some kind of damage control in the qake of the overwhelming negative press the Holy Father has received regarding his defense of the Bishop and his remarks that those who continue to accuse the Bishop are guilty of calumny.
Pope Francis’ choice of Archbishop Scicluna is significant. He enjoys great credibility among survivors because of his work from 2002 to 2012 as Promoter of Justice at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) in cases brought against Priests and Religious accused of the sexual abuse of minors.
In those years at the CDF, Archbishop Scicluna played a key role in drafting the new norms for the church’s handling of sexual abuse allegations, norms that are now operational throughout the Catholic Church. He traveled widely to explain the new zero tolerance policy and the accompanying norms to church leaders in different countries and gave many public conferences.
The Pope’s decision to re-investigate the charges against Bishop Barros will not resolve the controversy. If Pope Francis believes it will, he is deluding himself.
The mob wants blood, not justice. Hysteria rules the day whenever a Priest or Religious or anyone in a leadership position within the Church is accused of sexually abusing a minor.
The accusation itself amounts to a verdict of guilty and the mob wants swift (if not instant) punishment.
It is unfortunate that whoever has influence with Pope Francis convinced him to re-involve himself in this ugly and bitter campaign against Bishop Barros.
It would have been more prudent to let civil officials conduct their own investigations and report their findings to a civil prosecutor to determine if an criminal indictment was warranted.
Pope Francis has not done himself any favors in this latest move.
It is a lesson he will soon and sadly learn.
Perhaps, the Holy Father may have learned another lesson: stay in front of the plane and do not hold impromptu news conferences with reporters.
Silence truly can be golden.
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