Posted on 10/01/2024 6:53:51 AM PDT by ConservativeMind
Pope Francis said on Sunday victims of Catholic clergy sexual abuse in Belgium deserved more financial compensation, calling the amounts allocated to them so far "too small".
On the flight back to Rome from Belgium, where the pontiff was pressed by the country's political leaders for more concrete actions to address clergy abuse, Francis also reiterated the Catholic Church's commitment to helping survivors.
"We must take care of those who have been abused, and punish the abusers," he said.
Francis was urged in Belgium by both King Philippe and Prime Minister Alexander De Croo to do more to help abuse survivors in unusually forceful language for a papal foreign trip.
In a two-hour meeting with survivors on Friday, the pope was also asked specifically to look at the issue of financial compensation.
"We didn't talk about amounts as such, but we are very clear on the fact ... that what has been achieved and obtained so far is totally insufficient," said Annesophie Cardinal, one of the survivors who attended the meeting.
Francis said on Sunday the amounts given to survivors, which ranged from 2,500 euros ($2,800) to 25,000 euros ($28,000), depending on the severity of the abuse, did not provide "what was needed".
Belgian clergy abuse victims have received financial compensation through a Church-established mediation body following a 2010 investigation that uncovered widespread abuse over decades.
In total, the Arbitration Centre upheld 507 claims from victims of priests, awarding a total of 3 million euros ($3.4 million), a former member of the Centre's scientific committee told the Belgian Parliament in 2016.
Francis has made addressing abuse by clergy a priority of his papacy, and created the first papal commission on the issue. He also installed a global system for Catholics to report suspicions of abuse or cover-ups by bishops.
(Excerpt) Read more at usnews.com ...
I agree, I think every Catholic Church, every asset, every statue and painting even the very ground the Vatican sits on should be sold and given away.
I marvel at the opulent gold, artworks, buildings, etc. the Catholic church has—especially in Rome.
Jesus and the Apostles never had any such wealth, and eschewed such wealth.
The Catholic church revels in it.
Sell the Papal stash of jewels and art.
Sure, as long as the same is done for every public school, university, sports team, government agency, synagogue, mosque, etc... where this has happened.
Because it has occurred far more than at the Catholic Church, and is still occurring.
Madonna della Pietà, Sistine Chapel fresco, Raphael's Crowning of the Virgin, etc. etc. - these were NOT produced for sale. They had no value when they were produced, except what the church or a local benefactor paid the artist for his work. In fact there were many stories where such works were thrown away, buried under rubble, hidden in basements, etc... and were only found or retrieved recently.
They were not stolen. They were not produced with slave labor. They weren't produced by corporations for shareholders. They were produced for simply for decoration of churches and the Glory of God.
They still are not for sale, and remain unpriced. So WHY do we ascribe any value now? Because the world collectively recognizes their historical value - and unconsciously recognizes their immense spiritual value, especially in a highly secularized world. That value derives solely from the Catholic Church itself.
The notion that a price must be put on everything, and that because one has something deemed to be of value, it must be re-distributed to those without it, comes from the cancerous materialist, marxist ideology of our time.
What is that called, dandegeld? Basically, paying to shut ‘em up.
How about making examples of the degenerates in your midst, yah pedo-protecting pervie?
Crucifixion might work as a deterrent.
Can we keep the missals chalices, patens, altar linens, candlesticks, and vestments, so we can still hear Mass around a rock in the forest or in someone’s basement, or are you going to take those, too?
Ebb tide, you can quit your postings of threads to me.
Thanks.
I’d rather not.
Have you been to Rome? Those works of art are open to the public. The fees generated go to maintenance and to charities.
Those who criticize the Church and its extensive property holdings, priceless works of art, and historical artifacts also fail to recall that most of this precious inventory has been given to the Church by others over the past two thousand years. AND that these are humanities treasures and open to all of humanity, not locked away in some rich guy’s house.
And although the Church has a clear hierarchical structure in terms of authority, it is not monolithic in its finances. Even if the pope wanted to liquidate those assets and give them to the poor, he would be hard-pressed to do so. Those who think the Vatican is one of the wealthiest organizations in the world are gravely mistaken, just as assumptions about religious orders, and other Catholic organizations being so are also incorrect. In reality, the Vatican runs a deficit.
Although the Church has accumulated a vast number of buildings, sacred art, and property through her long history, much of that wealth is both expensive to maintain and not easily transferred into liquid cash. Despite the impracticality of selling off all its property, as desired by critics, the Church views her inventory of priceless works of art, manuscripts, and cathedrals as items belonging to humanity—a collection of wealth of which the Church is not the owner but the guardian.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.