Pope calls for “compensation” for abuses committed, including by the Church

Pope Francis this Saturday defended an act of reparation that “promotes reconciliation between people,” especially in the face of “violations of personal dignity, even within the people of God.”

“How many tears still roll down the face of God, while our world experiences so many violations of the dignity of the individual, even among the People of God!” he said during an audience at the Vatican before participants in the Reparations conference. for the irreparable”, on the occasion of the 350th anniversary of the appearance of Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary in Paray-le-Monial.

Francis explained that “reparation contributes to the reconciliation of people among themselves, but also to reconciliation with God, since an evil committed against a neighbor is also an offense against God,” and added that it also “allows us to hope that all wounds can be healed.” . healed, even if they are deep.”

According to the Supreme Pontiff, “Full reparation sometimes seems impossible when property or loved ones have been permanently lost or when certain situations have become irreversible. But the intention to correct and to do this concretely is important for the process of reconciliation and for the return of peace to the heart.”

While in several countries Catholic Church officials are being investigated, and in some cases convicted, for sexual abuse, Francis then emphasized that “retribution, to be a Christian, touches the heart of the wronged person and is not a simple act of justice, commutative, involves two demanding relationship: admitting one’s own guilt and asking for forgiveness.”

“All reparation, human or spiritual, begins with the recognition of one’s own sin,” and “with this honest recognition of the harm done to a brother, and with the deep and sincere feeling that love has suffered, begins the desire to make amends.” is born,” he explained.

At the same time, when he “asks for forgiveness,” the Pope continues, “he resumes dialogue and expresses the desire to restore the bonds of brotherly love.”

In another speech, at a second audience, this time before the international leaders of the Equipe Notre-Dame movement, the Pope condemned that the “Christian family” is experiencing a “real cultural storm” in these times of change and is “under threat and temptation on several fronts.” .

To members of this movement who help marriages in difficulty, the Pope declared that “to save a marriage essentially means to save the whole family, it means to save all the relationships that arise in marriage: the love between spouses, between parents and children, between grandparents and grandchildren, means preserving that testimony of possible and eternal love that young people find difficult to believe.”

For this reason, Francis noted that there is an urgent need “to help young people realize that Christian marriage is a vocation, a specific call that God directs to a man and a woman, so that they can fully realize themselves as generators, becoming fathers and mothers. “.

The head of the Catholic Church also called on them to be “considerate helpers to those in need, to those who are lonely, to those who have family problems and who do not know who to talk to because they are ashamed or have lost hope.”