Pope says sexual abusers are disgusting ‘enemies’ but should still be loved
- ‘The abuser is to be condemned, but as a brother’, Pope Francis said, calling it ‘a form of loving the enemy’; abuse scandals have been a major challenge for Church
- He acknowledged that ‘loving the enemy’ was not easy because of the effect abusers have on people’s lives
Sexual abusers are disgusting “enemies” who deserve to be condemned and punished, but also deserve Christian love and pastoral care because they too are children of God, Pope Francis said.
Francis made his comments on April 29 in a private conversation with Jesuits while he was visiting Hungary.
Francis is also a Jesuit and the comments were published on Tuesday in the Italian Jesuit journal Civilta Cattolica, as is customary after such meetings.
Abuse scandals have shredded the Catholic Church’s reputation and have been a major challenge for the pope, who has passed a series of measures over the last 10 years aimed at holding the church hierarchy more accountable, with mixed results.
During Francis’ visit, a Hungarian member of the Jesuits religious order asked Francis how it was possible to follow Jesus’ commandment to love enemies when the enemy was a sexual abuser.
“How do we approach, how do we talk to the abusers for whom we feel disgust? Yes, they too are children of God. But how can you love them? It’s a powerful question,” Francis responded.
