We have come a long way from 2001, but the hurt and pain remained in the faces of many present, including Tim Rogér of Rochester NY, who lost his daughter Jean, a flight attendant on board American Airlines Flight 11. Mr. Roger said he hoped the pope would say prayers for the place, for the people, and for his daughter Jean.

Praying at a unlighted candle next to the prie-dieu Pope Benedict XVI used on his visit, the Pope offered those prayers silently while looking at the south pool of the memorial.

The 9/11 site has become not just a memorial or a museum—it is a pilgrimage.

For families, it is a place where people lay flowers alongside their loved ones, or walk amongst agrove of beautiful trees. The roar of the water falling into the two craters left by the towers is a poignant reminder of both that day’s destruction and the endless tears that have flowed since that day. Many bought pictures of loved ones, and the pain in their faces was a reminder that is it never really over for them. For those of us who remember the homemade memorials and pictures of those who were lost in the towers, the museum and memorial grounds are a moving remembrance.

So it was important then, that religious leaders gathered both to see the pope and to participate in an interfaith service of remembrance. It was a mini Parliament of Religions from the New York area, with over 600 interfaith leaders in attendance: Sikhs, Hindus, Buddhists Muslims, and Christians participated, with reflections offered by Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove and Imam Khalid Latif. All were invited to pray with and listen to the pope, who emphasized the importance of dialogue and diversity.

The Pope remarked “In opposing every attempt to create a rigid uniformity, we can and must build unity on the basis of our diversity of languages, cultures and religions, and lift our voices against everything which would stand in the way of such unity.”

The 9/11 Memorial site is the only place in America the Pope worshipped with leaders from other religious groups. His speeches are punctuated with the awareness of the violence and tensions that have arisen from religious fundamentalism.

In his speech to the joint meeting of Congress, the day before the Pope remarked,  “no religion is immune from forms of individual delusion or ideological extremism.”.While people will assume that statement was about ISIS, it also describes the current tenor of Islamophobia in America. From the Chapel hill shooting, to GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson, to a Sikh American beaten and called a “terrorist” in Chicago—now more than ever is a time to consider the religious extremism that exists in the American context, not just abroad.

In the words of Mr. Roger, whose daughter Jill was only 24 years old when she died in the 9/11 attack, “I hope that the Memorial will have deep meaning, and will promote peace and welcome.” These days, whether religious or not, we must all share that hope.

The Pope’s post-meeting remarks to the assembled Bishops, that “God weeps,” may be a hint of what the next phase of the sexual abuse scandal holds. In his words to the Bishops gathered, Pope Francis said, “The crimes and sins of sexual abuse of minors may no longer be kept secret; I commit myself to ensuring that the Church makes every effort to protect minors and I promise that those responsible will be held to account.”

The very next day, in response to a question about the attendance of Cardinal Justin Rigali at the papal mass, Archbishop Chaput of Philadelphia testily told reporters that, “In some ways, we should get over this wanting to go back and blame, blame, blame. The church is happy to accept its responsibility, but I’m really quite tired of people making unjust accusations against people who are not to be blamed—and that happens sometimes.”

Some Bishops never learn.

I’ve been covering sexual abuse on RD for a few years now, and I’m consistently shocked and stunned by clergy members and administrators who don’t seem to understand what a soul-gutting experience it is for people who have been sexually abused by those in religious authority. To chastise people for wanting to uncover the truth is almost as bad as moving perpetrators around without caring that they molested children.

Chaput’s statement about “making unjust accusations against people who are not to be blamed,” belies an understanding of both the newly formed commission, and the responsibilities of reporting child sexual abuse. Currently, the Catholic Church, along with several other organizations, is lobbying to prevent a two-year extension of the statute of limitations in Pennsylvania for child abuse cases. House Bill 2067 to extend the statute was introduced by Representative Mark Rozzi, who was raped at 13 years of age. The rapist, Rev. Edward Graff, was moved to several churches until he was arrested in Texas and died in custody.

So when Archbishop Chaput callously says that we should all “get over” wanting to go back and blame, read that statement in the context of current lobbying by the Catholic Church not to extend the statute of limitations. The Archbishop isn’t new to this fight, having contested statute of limitations laws as Bishop of Denver. He knows exactly what he’s saying.

Not going back in Philadelphia means not opening up more litigation in an Archdiocese that has been broken by sexual abuse, two grand jury investigations, and the first Catholic administrator sent to jail for child endangerment by pedophile priests. Not going back means that even though the Archdiocese just settled with “Billy Doe” they wouldn’t have to sit through the civil trial, which is still scheduled for November 9, 2015. It would also mean that any other cases outside of the current statute of limitations wouldn’t be heard.

So forgive me if I conclude that Archbishop Chaput was more than just testy. His words were deliberate, and weren’t really about Cardinal Rigali being back on the altar for the Pope’s visit. He wants Philadelphia to forget and move on.

The real issue is what else lurks, not only in Philadelphia but worldwide, now that bishops will be held accountable? If Pope Francis and the commission he has appointed do their jobs, a third wave of scandals could be coming to the church that has the potential to eclipse the previous ones. Ifbishops are going to be held accountable for moving sexual predators and rapists, then it’s quite likely that there will be more than a few bishops in the same predicament as Bishop Finn in Kansas City.

For example, in Minneapolis, where prosecutors have brought criminal charges against the archdiocese for failure to protect children, three Bishops are involved, including Archbishop John Nienstedt, who has resigned amidst the allegations, along with Auxiliary Bishop Lee Piché.

On the flight back to Rome, Pope Francis was asked why he felt the need to offer consolation to the Bishops over the sexual abuse scandal in America. Clarifying his comments, he said that his words of comfort were not meant to downplay the situation but that “It was so bad I imagine you cried hard.” He also reiterated “those who covered this up are guilty. Even bishops who covered this up are guilty.”

God might be crying, but given Archbishop Chaput’s tone, the bishops haven’t cried enough.

To add a bit of irony, the next World Meeting of Families will be held in Dublin, Ireland. If Pope Benedict XVI wanted to save Philadelphia, Pope Francis heading for Dublin to talk about family after the sexual abuse scandals they’ve suffered will surely be an exercise in raising a Catholic country from the dead.

While the biannual World Meeting of Families is intended to sustain and promote the Church’s ideal of the family, until the Church can fully understand that its failure to reckon with its sexual abuse scandal has destroyed families, how can it hope to speak theologically or pastorally to the pressing issues of the family?

Going back to repair and repent seems to be a logical part of the process of going forward. Attitudes like Archbishop Chaput’s are the reason why the church continues to struggle with that necessary process. The weight of the abused bodies of children, the suicides, the drug addictions, and the terror of those who have been silenced, still speak. It will be a very long time before the past is the past.

http://religiondispatches.org/god-may-weep-for-church-sexual-abuse-but-bishop-chaput-prefers-to-bark/

Translation: “we got played, but this is not our game in the first place.”

The fact that the Vatican actually issued a statement after Vatican spokesman Fr. Lombardi said he wouldn’t comment is amazing enough. It would be a mistake, however, to make simplistic assumptions that either the Pope is in the tank for Kim Davis, that Liberty Counsel’s Mathew Staver’s version of the meeting is the truth, or that the Pope proved he was really a culture warrior who lied about everything he said in the US. To quote Facebook: it’s complicated.

While this feels like a break up between the Pope and all the great press he received for his welcoming tone in America, the truth is more complicated.

The best explication of what most likely happened has come from Charles Pierce in Esquire, who verified (correctly) that Archbishop Carlo Vigano, the nuncio, is the person who hastily arranged the meeting between the Pope and Kim Davis.

Archbishop Vigano is a Pope Benedict XVI supporter involved in the Vatileaks scandal. Vigano has lied about his own brother, with whom he is involved in a dispute about their considerable family inheritance. Or, to put it another way, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano is the Petyr Baelish of this particular iteration of Vatican “Game of Thrones.” The Archbishop decided to wade into the culture wars at the behest of parties yet unknown, or his own spite at being driven out of Rome.

Whatever the reason, the Archbishop is the key to this festering mess. Kim Davis, who has her own popularity issues, is simply a pawn between two patriarchal organizations—The Vatican and Liberty Counsel.

What Mathew Staver and Liberty Counsel have done well, is to manage the media narrative. They announced the meeting around 2am in Rome, while everyone was asleep, got Davis on Good Morning America, and left the Vatican media apparatus flatfooted and flailing. Liberty Counsel has also issued a rebuttal to the Vatican’s statement on the meeting, which is naïve at best.

Staver lying at the Values Voters Summit about 100,000 people in Peru praying for Kim Davis proves that he’s willing to stretch a story to fit the narrative of Kim Davis as a Martyr and “conscientious objector.” No matter how much he may continue to assert that “Vatican officials approved the visit,” I would suspect the only Vatican official he most likely spoke with was Archbishop Vigano, who let Kim Davis and Staver in the back door of the Nunciature (Vatican embassy).

Not the first time that’s happened either. Remember, Pope Benedict’s personal butler gave his personal documents to the Italian press.

For everyone understandably mad and hurt about the Pope meeting Kim Davis, those feelings are valid. Looking at this from an American media or political perspective misses the real point—the Papal visit was hijacked by the Nuncio and Matt Staver as a power play with several objectives: to both change the tone of the Papal visit, to promote Kim Davis as the “saint” of the battle against same sex marriage, and to hijack the beginning of the Synod on the family which may or may not have the potential to make some interesting changes in the church.

The real meeting about religious liberty was the visit of Pope Francis to the Little Sisters of the Poor, not Kim Davis. Kim Davis was used to upset the non-confrontational narrative of the Papal visit, particularly on culture war issues like same-sex marriage, abortion, and homosexuality—all issues on which the Pope is very clear about upholding current Catholic teaching. As Sarah Posner said, “The Pope is still Catholic.”

Trying to read Vatican politics through the lens of American politics and media concerns is not helpful in this particular instance. Rather, parsing out the players, the mess, and potential outcomes will yield a better understanding of what the stakes are for Pope Francis and the upcoming Synod. Kim Davis impacts his “reputation” but the substance was always the same. Don’t expect Mathew Staver or Liberty Counsel to understand the intrigue and power plays that happen inside the Vatican. They made a great play here, but that play was a gift from the Nuncio, who has managed to be in the middle of both Vatileaks and the Kim Davis Papal blessing.

Stay tuned. There will be more “ratf*cking” to come, to borrow Charles Pierce’s colorful description. Pope Francis may want to take a page from the Anglicans and get himself a Walsingham to prevent the next big event from going bust.

http://religiondispatches.org/pope-francis-v-kim-davis-a-vatican-game-of-thrones/