#22 || AN IMAGINARY RECKONING WITH POPE FRANCIS
TRANSCRIPT
NARRATION
The clergy sex abuse crisis has reached a zenith. US Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was just defrocked, becoming the first cardinal ever to be removed from the priesthood because of sexual abuse. Pope Francis just publicly admitted to a whole other realm of abuse -- of nuns. And in February of 2019, for the first time ever in the history of the Catholic Church, the Pope gathered all the head bishops in the world / at the Vatican….to talk about sexual abuse.
Pope Francis wasn’t available to talk to US about how he’s reckoning with the crisis……..so I wrote his reckoning for him:
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ACTOR:
Saint Francis de Assisis gives us the spirit of the poor. That’s why I chose him as my namesake. And I’ve communed with the poor, I’ve eaten with the poor, I’ve washed the feet of prisoners…but that’s easy for me. What’s more difficult...is communing with those who we have left poor -- our victims of sexual abuse.
I have only begun to hear the pain we fathers have inflicted on our children, our sisters, our family. And I need to hear more, but this I can already say:
Miserando atque eligendo. The most powerful message of Jesus Christ is mercy. And so, I have tried to show mercy to the abusers among us.
But you know, this is not mercy. Mercy requires that we come face to face with our sins. When we receive mercy without facing our sins, we diminish our own souls. And so by pardoning abusers who do not face their sins, I am not showing them mercy. I am diminishing their souls.
And so I declared zero tolerance for abusers and tried to make justice for victims. But this too...this is not justice. Justice doesn't only address individual abusers. Justice addresses the system that enables their abuse!
But the truth is, I fear true justice. I fear true mercy. What if the police get involved? What if our colleagues go to jail? What if more people leave our Church? What if I am humiliated?
Well, perhaps I need to be humiliated in order to become humble. Perhaps it is precisely these consequences that will evolve our Church.
Indeed, our crisis of sexual abuse is our opportunity to evolve our Church! We abuse our power in ways that deny the words we recite -- this is our opportunity to share that power, and live our gospel! Our people are losing faith -- this is our opportunity to show the people how our faith can guide us through darkness! Our Church is losing relevance -– this is our opportunity to show the world how to address sexual abuse in a way that achieves justice and mercy.
People ask, can the Church survive this crisis? But there is no other way. It is only by working through this crisis that our Church can survive. It is only by working through this crisis that our Church can evolve.
And it is my challenge to guide us with justice and mercy. It is my challenge to share my own power. Starting now.
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NARRATION
That was a fictional Pope Francis played by Nat Jones, as channeled through me with the help of Susan Pavlak, Mary Lou Logsdon, and Helena de Groot. Aaand what in the world made me think I could put words into the mouth of Pope Francis?! There is so much I can say about this venture into the realm of fiction, but first, I’d love to hear from you: what do you think? How did this make you feel?
Let me know at: stephanie@infinintelunchbox.com
I’m Stephanie Lepp, and this is Reckonings
NARRATION
The clergy sex abuse crisis has reached a zenith. US Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was just defrocked, becoming the first cardinal ever to be removed from the priesthood because of sexual abuse. Pope Francis just publicly admitted to a whole other realm of abuse -- of nuns. And in February of 2019, for the first time ever in the history of the Catholic Church, the Pope gathered all the head bishops in the world / at the Vatican….to talk about sexual abuse.
Pope Francis wasn’t available to talk to US about how he’s reckoning with the crisis……..so I wrote his reckoning for him:
-----------------------
ACTOR:
Saint Francis de Assisis gives us the spirit of the poor. That’s why I chose him as my namesake. And I’ve communed with the poor, I’ve eaten with the poor, I’ve washed the feet of prisoners…but that’s easy for me. What’s more difficult...is communing with those who we have left poor -- our victims of sexual abuse.
I have only begun to hear the pain we fathers have inflicted on our children, our sisters, our family. And I need to hear more, but this I can already say:
Miserando atque eligendo. The most powerful message of Jesus Christ is mercy. And so, I have tried to show mercy to the abusers among us.
But you know, this is not mercy. Mercy requires that we come face to face with our sins. When we receive mercy without facing our sins, we diminish our own souls. And so by pardoning abusers who do not face their sins, I am not showing them mercy. I am diminishing their souls.
And so I declared zero tolerance for abusers and tried to make justice for victims. But this too...this is not justice. Justice doesn't only address individual abusers. Justice addresses the system that enables their abuse!
But the truth is, I fear true justice. I fear true mercy. What if the police get involved? What if our colleagues go to jail? What if more people leave our Church? What if I am humiliated?
Well, perhaps I need to be humiliated in order to become humble. Perhaps it is precisely these consequences that will evolve our Church.
Indeed, our crisis of sexual abuse is our opportunity to evolve our Church! We abuse our power in ways that deny the words we recite -- this is our opportunity to share that power, and live our gospel! Our people are losing faith -- this is our opportunity to show the people how our faith can guide us through darkness! Our Church is losing relevance -– this is our opportunity to show the world how to address sexual abuse in a way that achieves justice and mercy.
People ask, can the Church survive this crisis? But there is no other way. It is only by working through this crisis that our Church can survive. It is only by working through this crisis that our Church can evolve.
And it is my challenge to guide us with justice and mercy. It is my challenge to share my own power. Starting now.
-----------------------
NARRATION
That was a fictional Pope Francis played by Nat Jones, as channeled through me with the help of Susan Pavlak, Mary Lou Logsdon, and Helena de Groot. Aaand what in the world made me think I could put words into the mouth of Pope Francis?! There is so much I can say about this venture into the realm of fiction, but first, I’d love to hear from you: what do you think? How did this make you feel?
Let me know at: stephanie@infinintelunchbox.com
I’m Stephanie Lepp, and this is Reckonings