Sin Can't Be Underestimated: Nuncio To Canada Bishops

Yet Notes “Springtime of the Spirit”

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CORNWALL, Ontario, OCT. 21, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The destructive power of sinfulness and evil cannot be underestimated, and yet, mercy is stronger than anger, says the former nuncio to Canada.

Archbishop Luigi Ventura affirmed this Monday as he bid farewell to Canada after serving as the nuncio there since 2001. In September, he was appointed to France.

The archbishop gave a good-bye address at the plenary assembly of the Canadian episcopal conference.

One of the points the nuncio mentioned was the “tragic situation of one of our brothers.”

The Church in Canada has been facing an ongoing scandal as Bishop Raymond Lahey, 69, was charged Sept. 25 with possessing and importing child pornography. He resigned as bishop of the Antigonish Diocese the next day.

Archbishop Ventura reflected on this and the variety of experiences he’s had in Canada since 2001.

He said: “How could I not share your projects, your significant challenges, your moments of celebration and joy, as well as the moments of darkness and suffering? Most recently I shared with all of you, with your priests, with the Church in Canada and in the world, the tears and cry of suffering of Archbishop Anthony Mancini [apostolic administrator of Antigonish], over the tragic situation of one of our brothers.

“I share Archbishop Mancini’s heartfelt words: ‘At this time when so many hearts have been broken, we need to know again or for the first time, the healing grace of God’s love. Such healing grace can only come from all of us sharing together our faith and convictions that, in spite of sin in all its forms, mercy is stronger than anger, forgiveness is more powerful than rejection and reconciliation is more transformative of spiritual devastation into new life possibilities.”

The archbishop cited his own words at a Mass celebrated earlier this month at the University of St. Michael’s College in Toronto: "The Church in Canada bears the wounds together with the victims of a tragic past, and has made and continues to make systematic efforts to prevent the repetition of such abuses and exploitation… Yet we can never underestimate the destructive power of sinfulness and evil that tears apart the fabric of our community.”

Acres of snow

The nuncio recalled his first meeting with the bishops more than eight years earlier, when he quoted a classic description of Canada: “a few acres of snow.”

“In fact, experience taught me that there are not a few acres, there are thousands of acres of snow,” the archbishop quipped. “I was able to see this first hand during my visits to your dioceses. These different trips helped me to admire even more the zeal and extraordinary courage of the builders of this country and this Church. […]

“Fortunately, snow and winter are not the final word. Each year I was surprised at the blossoming of life that heralded springtime; as soon as the snow disappeared, the first flowers pushed through a still frozen ground. I think that a similar dynamic is at work in the Church: if for some, a certain lethargy seems to affect Christian life in the challenges ‘ad intra et ad extra,’ for those with ‘far-seeing eyes,’ the springtime of the Spirit is always at work.”

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