“The heroic example of the martyrs and of countless good Samaritans – young people, families, charitable and volunteer movements, and so many individual believers and consecrated persons – cannot make us overlook the counter-witness and the scandal given by some sons and ministers of the Church”. Pope Francis made these remarks in his address to the Roman Curia today, referring once again to “the scourges of abuse and of infidelity”. “The Church has for some time been firmly committed to eliminating the evil of abuse, which cries for vengeance to the Lord, to the God who is always mindful of the suffering experienced by many minors because of clerics and consecrated persons: abuses of power and conscience and sexual abuse”, Pope Francis recalled. These three forms of abuses were committed even by King David, who despite having been “chosen, made king and anointed by the Lord”, committed a “triple sin, three grave abuses at once: sexual abuse, abuse of power and abuse of conscience. Three distinct forms of abuse that nonetheless converge and overlap”. The Pope told those present that “the story begins” when “the King, although a proven warrior, stayed home to take his leisure, instead of going into battle amid God’s people. David takes advantage, for his own convenience and interest, of his position as king (the abuse of power). The Lord’s anointed, he does as he wills, and thus provokes an irresistible moral decline and a weakening of conscience. It is precisely in this situation that, from the palace terrace, he sees Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, at her bath and covets her. He sends for her and they lie together (yet another abuse of power, plus sexual abuse). He abuses a married woman and, to cover his sin, he recalls Uriah and seeks unsuccessfully to convince him to spend the night with his wife. He then orders the captain of his army to expose Uriah to death in battle (a further abuse of power, plus an abuse of conscience). The chain of sin soon spreads and quickly becomes a web of corruption”. “The sparks of sloth and lust, and ‘letting down the guard’ are what ignite the diabolical chain of grave sins: adultery, lying and murder”, the Pope summed up: “Thinking that because he was king, he could have and do whatever he wanted, David tries to deceive Bathsheba’s husband, his people, himself and even God. The king neglects his relationship with God, disobeys the divine commandments, damages his own moral integrity, without even feeling guilty. The ‘anointed’ continues to exercise his mission as if nothing had happened. His only concern was to preserve his image, to keep up appearances”. “For those who think they commit no grievous sins against God’s law can fall into a state of dull lethargy. Since they see nothing serious to reproach themselves with, they fail to realize that their spiritual life has gradually turned lukewarm. They end up weakened and corrupted”, Pope Francis said, citing the Apostolic Exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate: “From being sinful, they now become corrupt”. “Today too, there are consecrated men, ‘the Lord’s anointed’, who abuse the vulnerable, taking advantage of their position and their power of persuasion”, Pope Francis denounced. “They perform abominable acts yet continue to exercise their ministry as if nothing had happened. They have no fear of God or his judgement, but only of being found out and unmasked. Ministers who rend the ecclesial body, creating scandals and discrediting the Church’s saving mission and the sacrifices of so many of their confrères. Today too, there are many Davids who, without batting an eye, enter into the web of corruption and betray God, his commandments, their own vocation, the Church, the people of God and the trust of little ones and their families. Often behind their boundless amiability, impeccable activity and angelic faces, they shamelessly conceal a vicious wolf ready to devour innocent souls. The sins and crimes of consecrated persons are further tainted by infidelity and shame; they disfigure the countenance of the Church and undermine her credibility. The Church herself, with her faithful children, is also a victim of these acts of infidelity and these real sins of ‘peculation’”.