VATICAN CITY — Australian Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney
used his speech at the Synod of Bishops to formally apologize to young people
for all the ways the Catholic Church and its members have harmed them or let
them down.
In the presence of Pope Francis, he apologized Oct. 4 "for
the shameful deeds of some priests, religious and laypeople, perpetrated upon
you or other young people just like you, and the terrible damage that has
done."
He apologized "for the failure of too many bishops and
others to respond appropriately when abuse was identified, and to do all in their
power to keep you safe; and for the damage thus done to the church's
credibility and to your trust."
Later, at the synod briefing for the press, Paolo Ruffini,
prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, said several of the 25 bishops who
spoke that morning asked young people to forgive the church and its members.
Some spoke specifically of cases of clerical sexual abuse, he said, while
others asked forgiveness for not welcoming migrants — most of whom are young —
or for trying to "tame" young people rather than recognize their
energy and enthusiasm as a gift.
Chiara Giaccardi, an Italian professor of sociology working with
the synod, told reporters "at least five or six" of the 25 speeches
"emphasized asking forgiveness in a strong way." Most of those, she
said, mentioned "the church's lack of living its mandate fully."
The synod's communication plan is to have a few participants
share each day their reflections on what was said in the hall. But the Vatican
is not releasing a list of the bishops who speak during each session, is not
publishing summaries of the talks and is not referring to anyone by name during
the briefings.
Jesuit Father Antonio Spadaro, secretary of the synod's
information commission, told reporters the gathering "is not a parliament,
but a place of discernment" where everyone is free to speak openly,
"knowing that what they say will remain inside the hall."
Still, Ruffini said, each bishop is free to talk to anyone about
his own speech to the assembly.
Archbishop Fisher's office shared the text of his speech.
In addition to apologizing for the church's failures with
clerical sexual abuse, the archbishop also apologized for the ways in which the
church had failed to "introduce you to the person of Jesus Christ, his
saving word and his plan for your life."
"And for the times when you were searching for your sexual,
ethnic or spiritual identity and needed a moral compass, but found church
people unsympathetic or ambiguous: I apologize," he said.
The Catholic Church, Archbishop Fisher said, often "sold you
short" by not challenging young people to live up to their baptismal call
to holiness, by offering them "unbeautiful or unwelcoming liturgies"
and by not sharing with them church traditions such as the sacrament of reconciliation,
pilgrimages and eucharistic adoration.
He apologized for "poor preaching, catechesis or spiritual
direction" that failed to inspire conversion and for families, dioceses
and religious orders that adopted a "contraceptive mentality" that
did not even try to give birth to new vocations.
In addition to his apology, the Sydney archbishop pleaded with
young people: "Never give up on Jesus because of our failures. Never give
up on the church that you can help make more faithful. Never give up on the
world that, with Christ and the church's help, you can make a better
place."