Last week, we reported on the offer of resignation from ultra liberal German Cardinal Reinhard Marx.
Now, the Vatican has printed Pope Francis’s reply in which he rejects the offer.
You can read it below:
First of all thank you for your courage.
It is a Christian courage that does not fear the cross, is not afraid to be stunned in front of the tremendous reality of sin. So did the Lord (Phil 2. 5-8). It is a grace that the Lord has given you and I see that you want to assume and guard it so that it may bear fruit. Thank you.
You tell me that you are going through a moment of crisis, and not only you but also the Church in Germany is living it. The whole Church is in crisis because of the issue of abuse; moreover, the Church today cannot take a step forward without taking on this crisis. The politics of the ostrich leads nowhere, and the crisis has to be assumed from our Paschal faith. Sociologisms, psychologisms, do not work. Assuming the crisis, personally and communally, is the only fruitful way because a crisis does not come out alone but in community and we must also take into account that a crisis comes out or better or worse, but never the same[1].
You tell me that since last year you have been reflecting: you set out on your way, seeking god's will with the decision to accept it whatever it was.
I agree with you in describing as a catastrophe the sad history of sexual abuse and the way in which the Church dealt with it until recently. To realize this hypocrisy in the way of living faith is a grace, it is a first step that we must take. We have to take charge of history, both personally and communally. We cannot remain indifferent to this crime. To assume it is to put oneself in crisis.
Not everyone wants to accept this reality, but it is the only way, because making "purposes" of life change without "putting the flesh on the grill" does not lead to anything. Personal, social and historical realities are concrete and should not be assumed with ideas; because ideas are discussed (and it's okay to do so) but reality must always be assumed and discerned. It is true that historical situations have to be interpreted with the hermeneutics of the time in which they happened, but this does not exempt us from taking charge and assuming them as the story of the "sin that besieges us". Therefore, in my opinion, every Bishop of the Church must assume this and ask himself what should I do in the face of this catastrophe?
The "mea culpa" in the face of so many historical mistakes of the past we have done more than once in many situations although we personally have not participated in that historical juncture. And it is this same attitude that is being asked of us today. We are being asked for a reform,which – in this case – does not consist of words but of attitudes that have the courage to put themselves in crisis, to face reality whatever the consequence. And every reform begins on its own. Reformation in the Church has been done by men and women who were not afraid to go into crisis and let themselves be reformed by the Lord. It is the only way, otherwise we will be nothing more than "ideologues of reforms" who do not put their own flesh at stake.
The Lord never agreed to do "reform" (if I may say so) either with the Pharisee project or the Sadducees or the Zealite or the Essenian. But he did it with his life, with his story, with his flesh on the cross. And this is the path, the one that you yourself, dear brother, assume when you submit your resignation.
Well you say in your letter that it takes nothing to bury the past. Silences, omissions, giving too much weight to the prestige of the institutions only lead to personal and historical failure, and lead us to live under the weight of 'having skeletons in the cupboard', as the saying goes.
It is urgent to "ventilate" this reality of abuse and how the Church proceeded, and let the Spirit lead us into the wilderness of desolation, to the cross, and to the resurrection. It is the way of the Spirit that we are to follow, and the starting point is the humble confession: we have made mistakes, we have sinned. We will not be saved by polls or by the power of institutions. We will not be saved by the prestige of our Church that tends to conceal its sins; neither the power of money nor the opinion of the media will save us (so many times we are too dependent on them). It will save us from opening the door to the One who can do it and confess our nudity: "I have sinned", "we have sinned"... and to weep, and babble as we can that "turn away from me that I am a sinner", an inheritance that the first Pope left to the Popes and the Bishops of the Church. And then we will feel that healing shame that opens the doors to the compassion and tenderness of the Lord who is always close to us. As a Church we must ask for the grace of shame, and for the Lord to save us from being the shameless prostitute of Ezekiel 16.
I like how you end the letter: "I will gladly continue to be a priest and bishop of this Church and I will continue to strive at the pastoral level as long as I retain it wise and timely. I would like to dedicate the future years of my service more intensely to pastoral healing and to strive for a spiritual renewal of the Church, as You tirelessly ask for""
And this is my answer, dear brother. Continue as you propose but as Archbishop of Munchen und Freising. And if you are tempted to think that, by confirming your mission and not accepting your resignation, this Bishop of Rome (your brother who loves you) does not understand you, think of what Peter felt before the Lord when, in his own way, he presented him with the resignation: "turn away from me that I am a sinner", and listen to the answer : "graze my sheep".
With fraternal affection.
Francis
