Incoming Boston archbishop speaks candidly on abuse, confession, seminary formation
August 23, 2024
» Continue to this story on Our Sunday Visitor
CWN Editor's Note: Archbishop Richard Henning, who has been named by Pope Francis to become Archbishop of Boston, spoke with unusual candor about the problems facing the Church in an interview with Our Sunday Visitor.
Archbishop Henning emphasized that he would be honest with the people, and planned to listen carefully to the Catholic people of Boston. But he also expressed some strong opinions about a secularized society, his own seminary formation, and the sacrament of confession.
“The reconciliation room is a problem,” the archbishop said, noting that the setup “certainly is a risk that a predator could exploit.” He suggested that confessionals, with screens separating priest and penitent, would be preferable.
Observing that we live in a highly secularized society, Archbishop Henning said “it’s an environment that is hedonistic, it is hyper-secularized, it’s constantly telling us to do what feels good and to avoid anything that challenges us or is difficult.” The influence on children is damaging, he added: “If you raise a child in a polluted city, that child’s gonna end up with asthma, right?”
The incoming Boston archbishop, who will be installed in October, said that he placed a heavy emphasis on formation of new priests, remarking that his own formation “was too shallow, and it was insufficiently kind of faithful to the Church’s own teaching at times.”
The above note supplements, highlights, or corrects details in the original source (link above). About CWN news coverage.
For all current news, visit our News home page.
All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a current donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!
