Do you feel like coming home?

Yes, it is a homecoming for reasons I’ve already mentioned and for others. After decades of an itinerant life, the definition of home for me ceased to be merely geographic. For me, home is a place where I live good relationships reflecting our relationship with God. Yes, I feel I’m coming home, not only because of my personal history, but because there are good, godly people in America, in our Church, as well as outside of it.

As scandals in Pennsylvania and other states are made public, the Catholic Church in the US endures difficult times. Now, being a member of the US bishops’ conference, how will you face this challenge?

Sexual abuse of young people, or indeed of anyone, in the Church and outside of it is a great scandal of our time. The suffering of the victims is unspeakable. It is a spiritual crisis. At issue is a profound lack of virtue. We need conversion, a return to the basics. Much has been done in the Church to begin addressing it. But clearly much more needs to be done. I admire those who deal with the crisis squarely. I understand that today in America the Church is among the safest places for young people. But still much needs to be done to heal wounds of the past, to hear the victims who were silent for decades. I hope that the Church purifies itself so that it can continue to be a leader in the struggle for dignity and safety of all vulnerable persons throughout their life from conception to natural death.

We have to face the truth humbly, with the acknowledgement of, and repentance for, our sins. When we stop fearing, a new hope returns. Several weeks ago, the Paris Eparchy experienced a seminar conducted by Father Hans Zollner, SJ, about the extent of sexual abuse globally and in the Church and the inadequacy of our response to it. Fr. Hans is one of the main organizers of the meeting on abuse called by Pope Francis in Rome. The stories and statistics of those violated were nauseating. And yet awareness of the truth leads to hope. If we live in illusion, we are condemned to anxiety. We know it’s fake and sooner or later we are going to fall through the floor. Illusions are being stripped away. This is painful, but ultimately the truth generates hope.