This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
On July 7 Pope Francis met with six victims of sexual abuse committed by clerics of the Roman Catholic church. During that meeting the Pope asked for forgiveness for the abuse committed by Roman Catholic clergy.
From my perspective, being a survivor of sexual abuse, asking for forgiveness is asking to absolve the perpetrators of their crimes. Forgiveness is severing the chains that keep victims bound to the past.
What the Pope should be doing is apologizing for the behavior of the perpetrators and taking steps to ensure that clergy abuse is promptly and severely dealt with by the hierarchy of the church.
John Walker
Salt Lake City