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On Thursday, 21 March, the Prefect of the Congregation for the
Clergy, Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos, presented to the press the Holy
Father's Letter to Priests for Holy
Thursday 2002. Here is a translation of the introduction he used at
his press conference. "The Holy Father also urges priests, who are
sinners like all men to open their inner dwelling to Christ to receive
God's merciful embrace and re-establish the full friendship shattered by
sin. Offending God—let us remember—does
not nullify the holiness of the Church where the love of Christ poured
out by the Holy Spirit sustains the holiness of life of all the baptized
and particularly that of her sacred ministers, called to the full gift
of themselves to a heroic degree, to sanctify the People that God has
entrusted to their care (cf. 7-10). The whole Christian community and
civil society benefit from the renewal brought about by the Sacrament of
Reconciliation".
At the press conference the Cardinal Prefect did inform the
journalists about the canonical procedure that is based on the canon in
the 1917 Code of Canon Law represented in the Code of 1983 and in the
Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. Already in the Code of Canon Law
of 1917, Canon 2359 § 2, stated. "If they were to admit an offense
against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue with minors under 16
years of age ... they must be suspended, be declared infamous, be
deprived of any office, benefice, dignity or function that they might
hold, and, in more serious cases, be deposed". The canon 1395 § 2
of the 1983 revised Code: "The cleric who commits any other offense
against the sixth precept of the Decalogue, if the offense was committed
with violence or threats, or publicly or with a minor who is under 16
years, must be punished with just punishments, not excluding expulsion
from the clerical state, when the case requires it" and the same is
said in canon 1435 § 1 of the 1990 Code of Canons of the Eastern
Churches (CCEO).
Our Holy Father Pope John Paul I/ has deplored this behaviour, firmly
calling bishops and priests to be vigilant in their fidelity to the
commitment of being moral examples, both when he wrote to and spoke to
the bishops of the United States of America. (In 1993 the Pope wrote to
the American Bishops about this problem, in 1995 during his visit he
deplored the problem of pedophilia among priests, and in 1999,
addressing the Irish Bishops during their 'ad limina' visit, he spoke of
the victims of sexual abuse by the clergy.) Recently, in the Apostolic
Exhortation "Church in Oceania" the Pope states: "In some
parts of Oceania, sexual abuses on the part of priests and religious
were the cause of great suffering and spiritual damage for the victims.
They also caused grave damage to the life of the Church and became an
obstacle to the proclamation of the Gospel. The Synod Fathers have
condemned all forms of sexual abuse as well as all forms of abuse of
power, either within the Church or in society in general. Sexual abuse
within the Church is in profound contradiction to the teaching and
testimony of Jesus Christ. The Synod Fathers have expressed their
unconditional apologies to the victims for the pain and disappointment
caused to them. The Church in Oceania is seeking proper procedures to
respond to the complaints in this area, and is absolutely determined to
provide compassionate and effective care for the victims, their
families, the whole community, and the culprits themselves" (n.
49).
On 30 April 2001, the Holy Father published the Apostolic Letter Sacramentorum
sanctitatis tutela (The safeguarding of the holiness of the
sacraments), along with the Normae de gravioribus delictis
Congregationi pro Doctrina Fidei reservatis which reserved competence
to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for a series of
serious offenses, against the sanctity of the sacraments and against the
educational mission of sacred ministers with young people.
Assuming this special competence, the Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith sent a letter to the bishops of the world and now joins
them in taking responsibility for dealing with such serious
misdemeanours, so as to avoid the risk of negligence and to provide
better communication and coordination between the local Churches and the
centre of government of the universal Church. The goal is to establish a
uniform approach on the part of the local Churches, while respecting the
difference of situations and persons.
Canon law also includes what we might call an element of guarantee.
Its purpose is to remove the dangers prevailing in a culture of
suspicion. It provides for an authentic, regular process, to ascertain
the facts, and to confirm the evidence of guilt before a court. Of
course there is emphasis on the speed of the process.
1. If every Letter of the Holy Father to Priests for Holy Thursday is
always a living testimony of the solicitous love of the
Successor of Peter—a love
that aims to confirm priests in their faith and their mission (cf. Lk
22,32)—this Letter does that in a
special way, because basically the Pope aims to help priests rediscover the
Sacrament of Reconciliation, the personal encounter with Christ in
the mysterium pietatis [mystery of divine love] (cf. John Paul
II, Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio ineunte, n. 37), and
to ensure through their priestly ministry that all the faithful may have
"an intense experience of the face of Christ the Good
Shepherd" (Letter to Priests for Holy Thursday 2002, n.
4). In this context, I would like to stress three aspects of the Letter.
First aspect, close connection between Penance and Eucharist
2. First of all, the Letter highlights the close connection
between the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Eucharist, "the
source and summit of all Christian life" (Lumen gentium,
n. 11).
"With deep emotion I am sending you this traditional Holy
Thursday Letter, taking my seat beside you as it were at the table in
the Upper Room at which the Lord Jesus celebrated with his Apostles the
first Eucharist" (n. 1). The Pope's affection for priests and
his deep spirit of fraternal communion with them comes to light in the
opening words.
The One who is the universal Shepherd of the flock (cf. Jn 21,15-17)
and the visible foundation of the unity of the Church (cf. Mt 16,18),
addresses his "dear Brother Priests", empowered to act in
persona Christi Capitis [in the person, of Christ the Head]:
indeed, sharing in the same mission of the Bishops, they are true
apostles of Christ (cf. n. 1). Let us remember that priests, by the
anointing of the Holy Spirit which they received in their priestly
ordination, are sealed with a special and indelible character that
configures them to Christ the priest in such a way that they are able to
act in the name and in the person of Christ the Head (cf. Presbyterorum
ordinis, n. 2c).
The vocation to the ordained priesthood shows us the "wonderful
exchange" between God and man: the human creature gives Christ his
humanity—his voice, his hands, his
vision ... —so that he may use
them as an instrument of salvation, making him over into himself.
"Unless we grasp the mystery of this 'exchange', we will not
understand how it can be that a young man, hearing the words 'Follow
me!', can give up everything for Christ, in the certainty that if he
follows this path he will find complete personal fulfilment" (Gift
and Mystery, English edition, p. 89).
For this reason we reassert that the vocation to the ordained
ministry "is essentially a call to holiness, in the form which
derives from the Sacrament of Orders" (Pastores dabo vobis,
n. 33).
Then when in this letter John Paul II exclaims: "How
marvellous is this vocation of ours, my dear Brother Priests! Truly we
can repeat with the Psalmist: 'What shall I render to the Lord for all
his bounty to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call
upon the name of the Lord' (Ps 116,12-13)" (n. 1), we can
easily understand his words. The Pontiff continues the reflection he
began last year on the mission that the Lord has entrusted to priests "to
represent him not just in the Eucharistic sacrifice, but also in
the Sacrament of Reconciliation" (n. 2).
On this subject, the Letter recalls that, in the school of faith, one
must learn that for a Christian the Sacrament of Penance is the ordinary
way to obtain pardon and the forgiveness of one's serious sins,
committed after Baptism; and quoting the Holy Father's words in his
Apostolic Exhortation Reconciliatio et paenitentia, I add:
"It would therefore be foolish, as well as presumptuous to wish
arbitrarily to disregard the means of grace and salvation which the Lord
has provided and, in the specific case, to claim to receive forgiveness
while doing without the sacrament which was instituted by Christ
precisely for forgiveness" (n. 31).
Reaffirming that the Eucharist is not ordered to the forgiveness of
mortal sins (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1395), the
Letter recalls the importance for every priest of discovering and of
helping everyone to rediscover the riches of God's forgiveness.
Second, the Sacrament of Penance offers a chance for a personal and
saving conversation with Christ who forgives
3. Secondly, it states that sacramental confession is a
special personal and saving conversation of the human person with Christ
who forgives.
If many can no longer distinguish between good and evil, it is
because they have lost the sense of God, and especially because they
interpret guilt from a psychological or sociological viewpoint.
Liberation from the depths of sin, the recovery of one's own interior
truth, troubled and overwhelmed by the offence one has given to God, is
the winning back of the lost joy of being saved that so many people
today do not know how to savour.
The Holy Father recalls that in the Jubilee Year the Sacrament of
Reconciliation, carefully presented and celebrated, was rediscovered
with "a broad appeal, even among the young" (n.
3), eager to know and experience personally "the merciful heart
of God through the friendly face of a brother"
(n. 3).
We know that the maturity of ecclesial life depends in great part on
the renewed experience by all of the faithful of the divine tribunal
of pardon. Therefore in his pastoral ministry the priest cannot
ignore the phase of pastoral care that shows the effectiveness of this
sacrament as a personal conversation with God that brings salvation. The
priest's proclamation of reconciliation, the personal path of conversion
and the celebration of the sacrament must work together and touch the
depths of the human heart.
In particular, we read in the Letter this exhortation of John Paul
II: "With joy and trust we rediscover this sacrament.
Let us experience it above all for ourselves, as a deeply-felt
need and as a grace which we constantly look for, in order to
restore vigour and enthusiasm to our journey of holiness and
to our ministry" (n. 4). Priests know that they are
good confessors if they are humble and regular penitents. They
rediscover daily the absolute need for their own personal holiness.
"We must begin by purifying ourselves before purifying
others", St Gregory Nazianzus says, "we need to be instructed
to be able to instruct, to become light to be able to enlighten, to be
close to God to bring others close to him, to be sanctified in order to
sanctify" (Orationes, n. 2, 71: PG 35, 480).
Every priest is invited to offer everyone the opportunity of a
personal conversation with the divine Emanuel, God-with-us (cf.
Mt 1,23), whose conclusion is sacramental Communion. In the Parable of
the Prodigal Son, (cf. Lk 15,11-32) after the Father's embrace comes the
festive banquet for the son who has been found. Likewise, sacramental
pardon makes it possible "once more [to] take part in the Eucharist
as the sign that he has again found communion with the Father and with
the Church" (Bull Incarnationis mysterium, n. 9).
Here lies the secret of the fidelity and perseverance of Christians,
the security and solidity of their inner dwelling place in the
midst of the afflictions and difficulties of the world.
Third aspect: biblical image of Jesus meeting with Zacchaeus in Luke
shows the dynamic of the Sacrament of Penance
4. Lastly, the Letter presents the biblical icon of the
conversation between Jesus and Zacchaeus (cf. Lk 19,1-10), a
wonderful expression of divine mercy that precedes and leads the
repentant man to a sincere existential conversion: to be opened to love,
to making reparation for the evil he has done and to a firm resolution
of new life.
The Holy Father carries out a penetrating exegesis of the passage
from the Gospel of St Luke: "When Jesus came to the place, he
looked up and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, make haste and come down for I
must stay at your house today' (Lk 19,5)". The Holy Father
highlights the personal meeting with Jesus who seeks out his creature,
who has gone astray and was lost through sin. It is the divine Word who
takes the initiative, stops and raises his eyes to that man who had
cheated so many, who perhaps was there out of mere curiosity.
Divine mercy anticipates the conversation and prepares Zacchaeus for
a sincere conversion. Christ says to the publican of Jericho, "I
must stay at your house today", implying the desire to fulfil a
mandate of God the Father, to bring everyone back to the path of
holiness, of communion with the Father. This is we read in the Letter
about God's activity: "Before being man's journey to God,
confession is God's arrival at a person's home" (n. 6).
The house of Zacchaeus becomes the place of his repentance and
conversion. The Holy Father also urges priests, who are sinners like all
men to open their inner dwelling to Christ to receive God's merciful
embrace and re-establish the full friendship shattered by sin. Offending
God—let us remember—does
not nullify the holiness of the Church where the love of Christ poured
out by the Holy Spirit sustains the holiness of life of all the baptized
and particularly that of her sacred ministers, called to the full gift
of themselves to a heroic degree, to sanctify the People that God has
entrusted to their care (cf. 7-10). The whole Christian community and
civil society benefit from the renewal brought about by the Sacrament of
Reconciliation.
In referring to the episode of Zacchaeus, we can remember how many
creditors obtained justice and abundant compensation through the
conversion of the publican that Christ brought about!
The Church always lives the Gospel of peace. She announces it to all
peoples and all nations. Without stop, she points out the ways of peace
and introduces it, tearing down the barriers of prejudice and hostility
among men. And she does so first of all through the sacrament of
forgiveness: bringing the grace of divine mercy as through her sacred
ministers the Church reaches to the very roots of human anguish, heals
consciences wounded by sin, so that the person feels the strength of
divine power and becomes a peacemaker.
How much innocent blood is unfortunately being shed before our eyes
in so many parts of the world! The Holy Father speaks of this with words
of greet feeling (cf. n. 11).
Societies and nations need men of peace, true heralds of harmony and
reciprocal respect, men who fill their hearts with the peace of Christ
and communicate it to others, taking it to homes, offices, institutions,
and work places all over the world: first of all there are and must be
the priests of Christ, instruments of divine grace, administrators of
divine gifts, and, especially, of the Sacraments of Reconciliation and
of the Eucharist.
May the Virgin Mary in whose womb the true reconciliation was
celebrated watch over priests, her beloved sons, so that in peace with
God they may be a living source of Reconciliation for society!
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