The Bishop of Leeds has expressed “a deep sense of shame" at clerical sex abuse that "has taken place over a period of decades” and is “immensely sorry for all the pain that has been felt by survivors as a consequence of the failure by members of the Church to listen to them and protect them”.
The Rt Rev Marcus Stock was responding to the publication on 20 August of Pope Francis’s in which he called the need for “...combatting all forms of the abuse of power, sexual abuse and the abuse of conscience”.
In his pastoral letter, Bishop Stock writes: “Together with murder, there is surely no greater or more terrible a crime than to corrupt or destroy the physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual innocence of a child. The sexual abuse of a child is such a crime.”
He adds that the fact “such abuse has happened in the family of the Church and that some of those who were called to watch over that family have neglected to listen to and protect its children from abuse” constitutes “the most serious failure of those shepherds who are supposed to tend for the very children and ‘little ones’ which Christ himself commanded us to safeguard in our care.”
He concludes that “expressions of sorrow” from Church leaders are “just not enough” and that only “the voices of the survivors of abuse” can help the Church “understand what needs to be done” in reforming the accountability of bishops and other Church leaders.
The Bishop has asked for his Letter to the Clergy and Faithful of the Diocese of Leeds to be made available in printed form, along with the letter of Pope Francis, in all Churches and Chapels of the Diocese of Leeds from this weekend.
Pope Francis in his letter expressed shame for the stain of clerical abuse and called on all Catholics to undertake a period of penance and fasting. His letter has led to responses across the Catholic world, including from Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster and Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth.
Read the text of Bishop Stock's letter here.
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