While his legacy in confronting the sex abuse scandal is still incomplete, Francis demonstrated that change is possible and mercy can be real
Early in his papacy Pope Francis said the name for God is mercy. He understood the church had become too doctrinaire, divisive and judgmental for too many people. The drift of Catholics from conventional practice in the west said as much. He knew the church had alienated the LGBTQ community, discriminated against women and resisted full participation for divorced and remarried Catholics. He acknowledged that previous popes had not confronted the clerical sex abuse scandal. He wanted to do better and the Catholic world was with him, the institution was not.
The Catholic church by its nature is a conservative institution. It uses inertia as a management tool. Change is a slow and drawn-out affair. Francis regularly railed against clericalism because of its sense of entitlement and misuse of power. He saw it as one of the reasons why the church became obsessed with protecting its image instead of believing and caring for the victims of clerical sex abuse. He also realised the clerical instinct to protect their own and conceal their crimes was underpinned by their exclusive hold on the workings of the church.
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