Pope Francis: Some Perceptive Comments

From Ross Douthat in the New York Times…

E.g., regarding Francis’ message of “forgiveness” for his first, scandalous appointee:

“Christianity and Catholicism insist that no sin is is beyond forgiveness, and that true repentance washes away even the worst stain. But for people in positions of ecclesiastical authority, the obligation to forgive and forget is complicated by the obligation to protect the faithful and satisfy the demands of justice … and too often, far too often, the theology of forgiveness was invoked by authority figures in Catholicism as a justification for returning priests to ministry, for hoping that pathologies could be cured in the confessional, and then for refusing to do the appropriate thing when confronted with the consequences of these decisions and resign. …But the danger facing the church in the future is not an exact replay of the sex abuse scandal. Rather, it’s a perpetuation of a model of church governance in which any scandal — sexual, financial, you name it — is met with forgiveness but not with penance, with apologies but not accountability.”