Acta Apostolicae Sedis - Commentarium Officiale312

bearing great fruit not only for those directly under your pastoral care, but

for all of society.

If they are to achieve their full purpose, however, the policies and pro-

grams you have adopted need to be placed in a wider context. Children

deserve to grow up with a healthy understanding of sexuality and its proper

place in human relationships. They should be spared the degrading manifes-

tations and the crude manipulation of sexuality so prevalent today. They

have a right to be educated in authentic moral values rooted in the dignity of

the human person. This brings us back to our consideration of the centrality

of the family and the need to promote the Gospel of life. What does it mean

to speak of child protection when pornography and violence can be viewed in

so many homes through media widely available today? We need to reassess

urgently the values underpinning society, so that a sound moral formation

can be offered to young people and adults alike. All have a part to play in this

task - not only parents, religious leaders, teachers and catechists, but the

media and entertainment industries as well. Indeed, every member of society

can contribute to this moral renewal and benefit from it. Truly caring about

young people and the future of our civilization means recognizing our respon-

sibility to promote and live by the authentic moral values which alone enable

the human person to flourish. It falls to you, as pastors modelled upon Christ,

the Good Shepherd, to proclaim this message loud and clear, and thus to

address the sin of abuse within the wider context of sexual mores. Moreover,

by acknowledging and confronting the problem when it occurs in an ecclesial

setting, you can give a lead to others, since this scourge is found not only

within your Dioceses, but in every sector of society. It calls for a determined,

collective response.

Priests, too, need your guidance and closeness during this difficult time.

They have experienced shame over what has occurred, and there are those

who feel they have lost some of the trust and esteem they once enjoyed. Not a

few are experiencing a closeness to Christ in his Passion as they struggle to

come to terms with the consequences of the crisis. The Bishop, as father,

brother and friend of his priests, can help them to draw spiritual fruit from

this union with Christ by making them aware of the Lord's consoling pre-

sence in the midst of their suffering, and by encouraging them to walk with

the Lord along the path of hope.14 As Pope John Paul II observed six years

14 Cf. Spe Salvi, 39.