Participants from across Central and Eastern Europe on Monday took part in the second day of a safeguarding conference being held in Warsaw, Poland.
The event, organized by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (PCPM), is focused the theme “Our Common Mission of Safeguarding God’s Children”.
From pain to resilience
Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, OFMCap, opened the day with the celebration of the Eucharist, and recalled the reason Church leaders from across Central and Eastern Europe are participating in the conference.
“We are gathered here because so many of our brothers and sisters have suffered at the hands of abusive clergy who have perpetrated evil acts by using their office to abuse others or to cover up such abuse,” said the Cardinal in his brief homily at Mass.
He lamented the many times that survivors of clerical sexual abuse have been “rejected in their suffering when they spoke out.”
However, the American Cardinal praised the courage of survivors and their families to allow their pain to help the Church better safeguard others.
“We pray to God so that, in God’s own wise ways, these sufferings may be the seeds of a more resilient, a more loving and a more faithful Church, humbly recognizing its faults and steadfastly committed to seeking justice and reconciliation with those who have been harmed,” prayed Cardinal O’Malley.