In America recently, and now speaking from London, “Philippine Francis” Cardinal Luis Tagle is traveling the world and making a name for himself.
The “harsh” and “severe” stance adopted by the Catholic clerics towards gay people, divorcees and single mothers has done lasting harm, one of the most prominent members of the Church’s new generation of Cardinals has acknowledged.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Archbishop of Manila in the Philippines, said the Church had to learn lessons from changing social attitudes and a greater understanding of psychology and recognise the “wounds” its judgmental approach had caused in the past.
He was speaking after addressing thousands of young British Catholics at the “Flame II” rally in Wembley Arena in London where he gave an impassioned call for Christians to learn again the meaning of the word “mercy”.
Do sinners wound the Church or does the Church wound sinners? Why is Cardinal Tagle making an apology tour?
The 57-year-old cleric who is widely considered to be a possible future Pope, was given an ecstatic reception from the crowd as he told them that “only mercy can save humanity”.
Does that mean anything? Did they stand up for that?
Speaking afterwards, he said it was clear that the tone taken towards gay people, divorcees who remarried against Catholic teaching and unmarried mothers had left many feeling “branded” and socially ostracised.
We’ve been harsh, we’ve wounded, we’ve had a tone, we’ve branded, we’ve burned. We even made a social sin. We’ve been an awful bad Church all these years, especially if you have a gay sex habit or a second husband. We were extra mean to you!
Then there’s that psychological damage just uncovered through research.
He added that improved understanding of child psychology had exposed the scale of harm done to children by the disciplinarian stance taken in schools.
The word “mercy” has been the central theme of Pope Francis’s pontificate but has exposed sharp divisions over possible moves to relax the ban on remarried divorcees receiving communion.
Cardinal Tagle told The Telegraph: “We have to admit that this whole spirituality, this growth in mercy and the implementation of the virtue of mercy is something that we need to learn over and over again.
He said that the past approach in Catholic schools and other institutions had often been to dictate rules and tell people that they were “for your own good”.
“Now with our growing sensibilities, growth in psychology, we realise that some of them were not as merciful,” he said.
“Now with the growth of insights in child psychology we see some of the wounds inflicted with that – and so we learn.”
Withholding Holy Communion is causing irreparable mental damage. Change course, apply inclusive mercy liberally, and a new springtime of self-esteem will surely blossom.
If anyone needs ‘mercy’ it’s Holy Mother Church. God save us from these oppressors.
I think SIN does the most damage to a person–both in this life and for sure in the next. Oh wait, we don’t have sin anymore, do we? Why would we even need mercy then?