Bishops worldwide express solidarity with Pope

(April 3, 2010) Countless bishops from across the globe have weighed in to support Benedict XVI as he is slandered by media accusations regarding the priestly sex abuse scandal in the Church. They agree that a campaign in under way to discredit the Church and they are calling Catholics to prayer and communion with the Vicar of Christ.
"The visible head of the Mystical Body of Christ has been mistreated by enemies of the Church, with unheard of lack of respect for the truth and with a display of incredible cynicism," remarked Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne, archbishop of Lima, at the chrism Mass he celebrated on Thursday. "Behind it all we can see an attack on the Church to harm her. "We, his children, cannot remain silent. Prayer is the main weapon that the Holy Spirit puts at his disposal. "Let us pray for the Pope, for the Church, for the bishops, for priests and for consecrated life. [...] Let us seek personal sanctity with greater force."
The episcopal conference from Paraguay sent a letter to Benedict XVI affirming "support, communion and solidarity." The bishops expressed their "communion with the Pope, at this moment of pain because of the attacks he receives in his character of pastor of the universal Church" - attacks that seek "to weaken his voice and moral authority."
In Santiago, Chile, Cardinal Francisco Errázuriz said on Palm Sunday that "some media try to strike the Pope's good name accusing him of things for which the Holy Father never had responsibility." That same day, Bishop Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel of the Mexican diocese of San Cristobal de las Casas said during the celebration of Mass affirmed that Pope Benedict XVI always acted with responsibility in regard to the problem of sexual abuse in the Church. "We are suffering for the internal sins that are undeniable, as is also the betrayal of Judas, Peter's denial and the moving away of the Apostles themselves, who left Jesus alone," he said. "They have even wished to splash Pope Benedict XVI with mud," though "since he was archbishop of Munich" and "afterwards as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he always dealt with these cases with extreme care and the highest level of responsibility."
In the Dominican Republic, the archbishop of Santo Domingo, Cardinal Nicolás de Jesús López Rodríguez stressed the criteria of firmness, transparency and severity with which Benedict XVI has treated and treats cases of abuse of minors. The cardinal said on Tuesday in a press conference in Santo Domingo that some of the media intends to underrate the facts and force interpretations. "That's nothing new and no one ignores that it is a confabulation of sectors of European governments and groups of the United States, which do not forgive the Pope or the Church for the firm position in defence of life and rejection of the crime of abortion," he stated.
At Thursday’s Chrism Mass, Cardinal Antonio Rouco Varela, Archbishop of Madrid and president of the Spanish bishops’ conference also affirmed union with the Pope "precisely in these days in which he is so offended and attacked." For his part, the military archbishop of Spain, Archbishop Juan del Río Martín, manifested his communion and filial affection to the Pope in a letter, and the military jurisdiction dedicated the Holy Hour on Holy Thursday to pray for the Church. Spanish Archbishop Jesús Sanz Monte of Oviedo, sent a letter to the Pope expressing the respect and filial affection of the entire diocesan community. While expressing closeness with the innocent victims of sex abuse and condemning the crime, they expressed grief for "the unjust and fallacious treatment” of the Pope by some of the media. Similar sentiments have bee expressed by Archbishops Joan Enric Vives Sicilia of Urgell and Carlos Osoro Sierra of Valencia.
In Rome, Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, expressed his closeness to the Pope on Tuesday, during the homily of a Mass with members of the Italian Parliament. "Thank you, Holy Father!" he said. "With the whole Church, and in a particularly eminent way in the present times, we are with Peter, with the great gift that God has given us in his Successor, our greatly loved Pope Benedict XVI."
Earlier, Indian Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay had issued a statement criticizing the Indian media for their misleading titles and for trying to discredit the Church.
In Hong Kong, Bishop John Tong Hon encouraged the faithful at Holy Thursday’s Chrism Mass to pray for Pope Benedict XVI. At the same time he asked victims of priestly sexual abuse to forgive their abusers and help the church seek renewal.