Francis pledged `’not to tolerate harm done to a minor by any individual, whether a cleric or not,” and promised that bishops `’will be held accountable.”

I am going to try mightily to get past that this whole thing is a trigger for me and try to comment in a measured and rational way. I must ask what I consider to be an important question…why only minors? Now it is true that I was a minor when I was molested. And it is true that the topic of the moment is about minors, sexual abuse, clergy and bishops but doesn’t harm done by clerics, even when the abuse has not been sexual, be extended to all people?  Maybe next time.

Bishop accountability is also promised. If the charge of molestation which was brought against my abuser before he even had a chance to molest me had been addressed by the bishop then I would have never been molested. Angry? A little. That archbishop is dead. The man who took his place as archbishop and continued the policy of protecting molesters is also dead. I did get an apology from the archbishop who next took over the office but he wasn’t really the man who needed to apologize to me. The apology offered by Pope Francis to all minors who were molested has the same flavor to me. It is nice that he at least put the words out there for all to hear but to me the same feeling of, ‘you are not the man who needs to apologize to me.’ rings loudly in my head.

As far as bishop accountability goes… If I hold my breath on that issue I am going to make sure I lie down first, that way if I pass out before it actually happens I won’t add physical hurts to my emotional ones. It would be nice though…to see someone held accountable. That would aid in the healing of myself and for many other victim/survivors, (I prefer the term victim),than a million apologies, that even if they ring true, do nothing for me personally.