“You have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry. I know that nothing
can undo the wrong you have endured. Your trust has been betrayed and
your dignity has been violated. Many of you found that, when you were
courageous enough to speak of what happened to you, no one would
listen. Those of you who were abused in residential institutions must
have felt that there was no escape from your sufferings. It is
understandable that you find it hard to forgive or be reconciled with

the Church. In her name, I openly express the shame and remorse that we
all feel. At the same time, I ask you not to lose hope. It is in the
communion of the Church that we encounter the person of Jesus Christ,
who was himself a victim of injustice and sin. Like you, he still bears
the wounds of his own unjust suffering. He understands the depths of
your pain and its enduring effect upon your lives and your
relationships, including your relationship with the Church. I know some
of you find it difficult even to enter the doors of a church after all
that has occurred. Yet Christ’s own wounds, transformed by his
redemptive sufferings, are the very means by which the power of evil is
broken and we are reborn to life and hope. I believe deeply in the
healing power of his self-sacrificing love – even in the darkest and
most hopeless situations – to bring liberation and the promise of a new
beginning.”