Dealing with human pain: Bishops, sex abuse victims hold meetings

Published: 2003-10-23

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- As U.S. bishops craft new programs to prevent clergy sex abuse of minors, they also are seeking ways to deal with the human pain of victims. One bishop has washed a victim's feet on Holy Thursday. Others have cried with victims. Some have prayed in silence with the people who say their lives were wounded forever by the priests who abused them. These symbolic gestures have resulted from unpublicized private meetings between bishops and victims. Such meetings are part of the church's pastoral outreach to balance monetary compensation with human compassion in seeking solutions to the crisis. "I show concern for them and their well-being. I listen to their stories. I apologize and offer to be of help in the healing process," said Bishop Anthony M. Pilla of Cleveland, who has held 22 meetings -- mostly one-on-one -- with victims. "The bishop represents the church, and they see this (clergy sex abuse) as an offense of the church," he said. Bishop Pilla added that, after meeting with one female victim, he saw her in the cathedral and invited her to be one of the 12 people chosen to have their feet washed on Holy Thursday. "She was there with her family and afterward they all came back to the sacristy. It was a real reconciliation," he said.

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