“It is the dark history of the Church and the priestly ministry that is written,” Fr. Zagore, a member of the Society of African Missions (SMA) told ACI Africa Wednesday adding, “Until all the light will be shed, we churchmen must constantly have a merciful look at our confreres judged and convicted today of pedophilia.”
“To have merciful glance is no way to condone or be silent about the heinous crime of pedophilia,” Fr. Zagore clarified and appealed for conversion.
A native of Ivory Coast and currently ministering in Togo, Fr. Zagore made reference to God as love saying, “The logic of God is clear: God loves the sinner, but hates sin.”
“We remain convinced that at the heart of all this torment, evil whatever his strength and tenacity, will not have the last word,” Fr. Zagore said in his reaction to Cardinal Pell’s conviction and concluded, “God’s love will always triumph over evil.”
“It is time for us to make our ministry profitable than being a danger to others,” Togolese priest Fr Jacob Ketchen shared his reaction with ACI Africa advising, “Let the reaction of the world from this issue not shake our faith in the risen Christ.”
“The evidence by the victim for me, is also something quite tricky,” Fr. Romulus Aabekpiir from Ghana told ACI Africa and explained, “13-year-old boys are not children and could have reported this at the time it happened.”
“If the victim only remembered this and felt the strong urge to bring this out after he attended the funeral of his friend who didn't die as a result of that act, I see a disconnect in the two,” Fr. Aabekpiir continued, “The friend died of drug overdose.”
Noting that the Church is being attacked at all fronts, Fr. Ernest Kouacou urged clerics to be prudent saying, “Christ sends us into the world like sheep in the midst of wolves, we should therefore not become wolves in the midst of our Christians.”
“Priests have to be very careful in their pastoral mission,” Fr Kouacou said, adding, “We have to return to the gospel message in order to discover the things that distance us from our vocation.”
Cardinal Pell was convicted in December 2018 on five charges of sex abuse.
