The Child Protection Statement of Catholic Bishops Raises Serious Questions

After a long silence, Hungarian church leaders have addressed one of the most painful social and religious issues of our time: abuse of minors. While the fact that they spoke out is significant, we are left with a sense of incompleteness.

On December 4, the Hungarian Catholic Bishops’ Conference issued a statement concerning scandalous news affecting the Church. The staff of Szemlélek magazin began reading the brief message with hope, but by the end, we were left with mixed feelings. We attempted to express our thoughts in the form of a collective reflection.

It is a significant step forward that, after three months, Hungarian Catholic bishops broke their silence and issued a statement regarding the Church’s involvement in these scandalous cases. Perhaps we should not refer to these merely as “scandalous cases” but rather as the painful, inhumane, traumatizing injuries suffered by minors, which go far beyond “scandalous news.” The statement expresses the bishops’ „sorrow” over the severe abuses. Even if we politely limit the time between learning about the first cases and issuing the statement to three months, it seems surprising how little time was devoted to contemplating the phenomenon.

Three areas in particular raise questions after reading the statement:

1. „Reconciliation with God requires reconciliation with one another. For the sins committed, we must pray, fast, and atone,” the text reads. The first part of it is, of course, true in itself. But what does reconciliation mean in the context of abuse? Are victims truly given the opportunity to experience any form of reconciliation? Are there visible signs of confrontation with these issues? How can “discontented” and “disillusioned” believers participate in this process? And should anyone really be required to pray for sins? How is it even possible to pray for sins?

2. „Reports of sexual crimes against children indicate that these occur in many layers of society, but they often give the impression that they are perpetrated exclusively by clergy.” This is indeed true. But is it really appropriate to mention this now?

Can reconciliation be fostered by pointing fingers at others? Could this deflective gesture be linked to the absence of an apology in the statement?

To better understand what is painfully missing from this statement, let us recall Cardinal Seán O’Malley’s words, spoken on October 1 during a penitential vigil in St. Peter’s Basilica:

„I apologize and feel deep shame for every occasion when we, as believers, were complicit in or directly committed abuses of conscience, power, and sexuality. How much shame and sorrow I feel when I think especially of the sexual abuses committed against minors and vulnerable individuals that robbed them of their innocence and desecrated the sanctity of the weak and defenseless. I apologize and am ashamed that we used the ordained ministry and consecrated life as a means to commit such horrific crimes, feeling safe and protected while diabolically exploiting the small and the poor.”

3. Is it not outdated to omit acknowledgment of the factors that enabled the abuse and its cover-up, at least for a time?

Is it not outdated to remain silent about the conditions that made these terrible cases possible?

Can the “discontent” and “disillusionment” be dispelled without real change and substantive steps aimed at addressing the misuse of power, the vulnerability of minors, and the broader culture of ecclesiastical life?

We hope that this statement is merely the first, a bit tentative step in a process that will ultimately provide reassuring answers to these pressing questions.

The staff of Szemlélek magazin