“We should ask ourselves about our own responsibility when we are not able to stop evil with good,” said Pope Francis at a penitential vigil held in St. Peter's Basilica on October 1, 2024, a day before the Synod on Synodality kicked off.
In a ceremony with an original format, participants asked God's forgiveness for the “principal sins” committed in the Catholic Church. These included sexual abuse, historical complicity in slavery and colonialism, rejection of migrants, exploitation of women, attraction to power, and opposition to building a Church united in a common mission.
On the eve of the opening Mass of the second assembly of the Synod on Synodality, held on the morning of October 2, Pope Francis prayed that all members and participants have the "courage of sincere repentance for conversion."
The second assembly of this major project — launched in 2021 — is taking place in Rome from October 2 to 27.
In order to heal the “sick relationships” that divide Christians within the Catholic Church, the Pope deemed it necessary to “call our principal sins for what they are” so as not to “slow down” the Church's “progress.”
With this in mind, the pontiff and the assembly listened to three testimonies, including that of Laurence Gien, a South African baritone who was abused as a child.
Sara Vatteroni, regional manager of the Migrantes foundation, also spoke. With her was a migrant from Côte d'Ivoire named Solange, a survivor of human trafficking of migrants to Europe, and Sr. Deema, a Syrian nun who recounted the horrors of war.
The Church's 7 requests for forgiveness
As if in response to their painful accounts, seven thematic meditations, each expressing an aspect of the Church's “shame,” were read aloud by seven cardinals — most of them high-ranking members of the Roman Curia.
Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay and member of the “Council of Cardinals,” asked forgiveness “from those who are born today and who will be born after us” for the “the sin of lack of courage, the courage necessary to seek peace and recognize the dignity of every person.”
Cardinal Sean O'Malley, metropolitan archbishop emeritus of Boston and president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, asked forgiveness for sexual abuse “diabolically” committed by members of the clergy.
Next, Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, asked for forgiveness for attacks on the environment and on the rights and dignity of every human person. He also lamented “the times when we were complicit in systems that promoted slavery and colonialism” and for “the globalization of indifference.”
Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, asked forgiveness “for all the times we have judged and condemned before caring for the frailties and wounds of the family.” “In particular,” on the part of men, he asked pardon for “all the times we have failed to recognize and defend the dignity of women.” He also asked forgiveness for the use of the death penalty.
Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, asked forgiveness for all the times we have “indoctrinated” the Gospel, “risking reducing it to a pile of dead stones to be thrown at others.” He also repented “for all the times we have given doctrinal justification to inhumane treatment.”
Cardinal Cristóbal López Romero, archbishop of Rabat, expressed regret for when members of the Church had given in “to the seduction of power and the flattery of first places and vain titles” and neglected “the mission in the geographical and existential peripheries.”
Finally, Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, archbishop of Vienna, apologized for breaches of “synodality.” He lamented “opinions and ideologies that hurt the communion in Christ of all” and the temptation to turn “authority into power.”
Forgiveness for a "new concord"
Pope Francis, taking his turn to speak, stressed the importance of recognizing the errors of the Church of the “poor in spirit and sinners seeking forgiveness,” and of “healing the wounds” caused by “the sin we have committed.”
In particular, he turned to a group of young people who had come to attend the celebration, asking their forgiveness on behalf of the Church for not having been “credible witnesses.”
“We should ask ourselves about our own responsibility when we are not able to stop evil with good,” the pontiff said. “Forgiveness, asked for and given, creates a new harmony in which differences are not opposed."
The voice of a sexual abuse victim in St. Peter's Basilica
South African baritone Laurence Gien introduced himself to Pope Francis and the entire assembly as a survivor of sexual abuse by a Catholic priest. Laurence was 11 years old when a predator abused him.
“For several months, he used praise, physical punishment, psychological manipulation, and all the other tools in his arsenal to manipulate and groom me. Finally, on a beautiful South African morning, he took me by the hand to a dark place where, in screaming silence, he ripped from me what should never be ripped from a child,” he recounted in poignant silence.
Saying he was “condemned to walk with the imprint of this aggressor on [his] soul,” Laurence assured his listeners that “this moment, with all its sordid details,” was engraved in him just as vividly today as it was 53 years ago. The artist, who currently lives in Germany, lamented the anonymity of the victims, which “serves to protect the perpetrators.”
“The faces of the victims are too often blurred, historically hidden behind a veil of secrecy that the Church, historically, has maintained with complicity,” he stressed.
The lack of transparency within the Church has repercussions throughout society, he also warned: “When an institution as important as the Catholic Church fails to protect its most vulnerable members, it sends out the message that justice and accountability are negotiable, when in fact they should be fundamental.”
