Seven cardinals called for forgiveness for seven sins during the penitential celebration at the opening of the Synod of Bishops’ second session last week.
Sins against peace
Cardinal Oswald Gracias sought forgiveness “for the lack of courage, the necessary courage in the pursuit of peace between peoples and nations.
“Our sin is even graver if, to justify war and discrimination, we invoke the name of God” he said.
Sins against creation, indigenous peoples, migrants
Cardinal Michael Czerny spoke of “shame for what we, the faithful, have done to transform creation from a garden into a desert, manipulating it at will”.
Exploitation damages “human dignity” he said.
He sought forgiveness for systems fostering slavery and colonialism, and for “the globalisation of indifference toward the tragedies” affecting many migrants today.
Abuse
Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley begged forgiveness for all forms of abuse.
He specifically sought forgiveness for the sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable people … and “for all the times we used the status of ordained ministry and consecrated life to commit this terrible sin”.
Subjugating others
Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell spoke “on behalf of all members of the Church, especially us men”, acknowledging a certain contempt for the dignity of women, making them “silent and submissive”.
He also said the Church sometimes neglects families’ needs, judging and condemning rather than caring for them.
Hope and love have sometimes been “stolen from the youth” when “we failed to understand the value of love and hope” he said.
He also prayed for “those who are mistaken” and abandoned in prison or on death row.
Misusing doctrine
Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández sought forgiveness for the misuse of Church doctrine.
“We, the pastors, tasked with confirming our brothers and sisters in the faith, failed to safeguard and present the Gospel as a living source of eternal newness.”
He especially begged forgiveness for times when doctrine was used to justify “inhumane treatment” or “hindered legitimate inculturations of the truth of Jesus Christ”, making it difficult to achieve “authentic fraternity for all humanity”.
Sins against poverty
Cardinal Cristóbal Lopez Romero denounced the “culpable indulgences that take bread from the hungry”.
He spoke of “feeling ashamed of the inaction that holds us back from accepting the call to be a poor Church of the poor”, acknowledging through this “trying” the difficulty of admitting guilt.
The “seduction of power”, the “enticements of first places and vainglorious titles” and the “ecclesial spaces sick with self-referentiality” stifle the mission to the “peripheries” dear to Pope Francis, he said.
Sins against synodality
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn highlighted the mindset necessary for a true synodal process.
He then asked forgiveness for the “obstacles we have placed in the way of building a truly synodal, symphonic church, aware of being the holy people of God journeying together, recognising its common baptismal dignity”.
He also expressed shame “for all the times we didn’t listen to the Holy Spirit, preferring to listen to ourselves… for all the times we turned authority into power, stifling plurality”.
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