Pope Francis' response to Cardinal Marx

Pope Francis' response to Cardinal Marx

Pope Francis declined Cardinal Reinhard Marx's request for his resignation on June 4. In a letter addressed to him and made public, the Supreme Pontiff responded to the German Prelate who had asked him to be removed from his mission as Archbishop of Munich, considering his responsibility for the failure of the Catholic Church in the face of the crisis of sexual abuse in Germany.

St Martha, June 10, 2021

Dear brother,

First of all, thank you for your courage. One who is not afraid of the cross, who is not afraid of being humiliated in the face of the terrible reality of sin, shows noble Christian courage. This is what the Lord affirmed (Ph 2,5-8). It is a grace that the Lord has given you, and I see that you want to seize it and keep it so that it may bear fruit. Thank you.

You tell me that you are going through a period of crisis; not only you but the Church in Germany. The whole Church is in crisis because of the case of abuses. Moreover, today's Church cannot move forward without facing this crisis. The policy of hiding ones head in the sand leads nowhere, and the crisis must be faced in the light of our faith. Sociological and psychological approaches will not help. Facing the crisis, personally and in community, is the only fruitful way, because we cannot resolve a crisis alone, but in community. Let us also bear in mind that we will survive any crisis either better or worse, but never unscathed (1).

You tell me you've been thinking about this for the past year: you set out, seeking the will of God with the resolution to accept it whatever it may be.

I agree with you when you label the sad history of sexual abuse and the way the Church has dealt with it until recently as a disaster. Becoming aware of such hypocrisy in the way of living the faith is a grace; it is the first step that we must take. We must take charge of history, both personally and as a community. We cannot remain indifferent to these crimes. To assume it is to put yourself in crisis.

Not everyone wants to accept this reality, but it is the only way, because taking "resolutions" to change one's life, without "putting flesh to the grill" leads nowhere. Personal, social and historical realities are concrete and should not be translated into mere ideas, because ideas get discussed (and it is good that they are) but reality must always be assumed and discerned. It is true that historical situations must be interpreted with the peculiarities of the time when they occurred, but this does not exempt us from taking charge of them and assuming them as the story of the "sin that encircles us". That is why, in my opinion, every bishop of the Church must assume it and ask himself: what should I do in the face of this catastrophe?

All reform begins with oneself.

The "mea culpa" in the face of so many historical errors of the past, we have done it more than once in many situations, even if we did not personally participate in the historical circumstances. And it is this same attitude that is being asked of us today. We are being asked to carry out a reform which, in this case, does not consist of words but of conduct which has the courage to face up to the crisis, to face up to reality whatever the consequences. And all reform begins with oneself. Reforms throughout the Church has always been made by men and women who were not afraid to enter into crisis and let themselves be reformed by the Lord. This is the only way forward, otherwise we will only be "reformist ideologues" who do not put their own flesh on the line.

The Lord never opted to negotiate a "reformation" (let me use that expression) either with the Pharisees, nor with the Sadducees, nor the zealots, nor the Essenes. He did it with his own life, with his story, with his body on the cross. And this is the way, the way that you yourself, dear brother, have assumed by presenting your renunciation.

You rightly say in your letter that burying the past leads us nowhere. Silence, omissions, giving too much weight to the prestige of the institution, only lead to personal and historical failure, and lead us to live with the burden of 'having skeletons in the closet', as the saying goes.

It is urgent to "ventilate" this reality of abuse and the way the Church has proceeded, and to let the Spirit lead us to the desert of desolation, to the cross and to the resurrection. This is the path of the Spirit that we must follow, and the starting point is the humble confession: we have made a mistake, we have sinned. Neither the polls nor the power of the institutions will save us.

We will not be saved through the prestige of our Church, which tends to conceal its sins;

we will not be saved by the power of money or the opinion of the media (we so often rely on and concern ourselves too much on them).

We will be saved by opening the door to the One who can do it and by confessing our nudity:

"I have sinned", "we have sinned"... and by weeping, and stammering as best we can the words - "Leave me Lord for I am a sinner", a legacy that the first Pope left to the Pontiffs and Bishops of the Church. And then we will experience a shame which leads to healing, and 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’, that the Lord might save us from being the shameless prostitute of Ezekiel 16.

I love the way you end your letter: "I will gladly continue to be a priest and bishop of the Church, and I will continue to be involved at the pastoral level as long as it is deemed reasonable and appropriate. I would like to devote the remaining years of my service more intensely to pastoral care and commit myself to a spiritual renewal of the Church, as you tirelessly request."

And so here is my answer, dear brother. Continue, just as you propose, but as Archbishop of Munich-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 His resignation to Him: "Distance yourself from me, for I am a sinner" , and listen to the answer: "Feed my sheep."

With fraternal affection,

Francisco.

(1) The risk is not to accept the crisis and to take refuge in alternative conflictual issues, an attitude that ends up stifling and preventing any possible transformation. Because the crisis has the seeds of hope; the conflict – on the contrary – the seeds of despair. The crisis implies... The conflict – on the other hand – entangles us and provokes Pilate's sanitized attitude: "I am innocent of this blood. It's your business"(Mt. 27:24) That has done us, and still does us, so much harm!