Pope expresses sorrow over child abuse scandals
Saturday, March 20, 2010 - 04:33 PM
Pope Benedict today confronted the child abuse scandals which have rocked the Catholic Church in Ireland and told victims he was truly sorry for their suffering.
In a letter being read at weekend Masses across the country, the pontiff admitted some bishops had made grave errors of judgment in dealing with paedophile priests.
But he stopped short of directly addressing well-documented cover-ups by senior clergy in recent decades, and at least one abuse survivor said the Pope’s comments did not go far enough.
While intended for the Irish faithful, the letter – the first of its kind to tackle clerical child abuse – will also have meaning for other countries hit by revelations, including the pontiff’s native Germany.
The pastoral note comes as head of the Catholic Church in Ireland Cardinal Sean Brady faces continued calls to step down over his handling of abuse allegations which saw victims sign confidentiality deals.
The Church has also been stunned this week by disclosures that two other accused Irish priests agreed to pay thousands of pounds in out-of-court settlements to their alleged victims.
Pope Benedict acknowledged there had in the past been “a misplaced concern for the reputation of the Church and the avoidance of scandal”.
He called for decisive action to restore people’s respect and goodwill towards the Church in Ireland and urged clergy to keep co-operating with civil authorities in tackling child abuse.
“I can only share in the dismay and the sense of betrayal that so many of you have experienced on learning of these sinful and criminal acts and the way Church authorities in Ireland dealt with them,” Pope Benedict told followers.
“Together with the immense harm done to victims, great damage has been done to the Church and to the public perception of the priesthood and religious life.”
Issuing the letter to Mass-goers at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh, Cardinal Brady asked people to read the letter with an open heart.
“In the name of the Church, Pope Benedict openly expresses the shame and remorse that we all feel about the abuse that has occurred,” the under-pressure primate said.
“He expresses the depth of the pain that has been caused and acknowledges that some people find it difficult even to go inside the doors of a church after all that has occurred.”
This week’s fresh scandals follow recent state investigations which unearthed a sickening litany of past clerical and institutional abuse against children.
In May last year, the Ryan Report revealed that the Catholic Church and Government covered up almost four decades of sexual abuse and beatings by priests and nuns on thousands of children in state care.
Six months later the shocking Murphy Report unveiled a catalogue of child abuse and subsequent cover-ups over three decades by the Catholic hierarchy in Dublin.
Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin welcomed the pastoral letter as a further step in the Church’s renewal and healing process.
“I welcome the Pope’s expression of apology and his recognition of the suffering and betrayal experienced by survivors,” he said.
“The Pope recognises the failures of Church authorities in how they dealt with sinful and criminal acts.”
In his letter the pontiff expressed willingness to meet victims and said there would be “apostolic visitation” of some Dioceses.
He also told religious figures who had abused children to answer for their actions before properly constituted tribunals.
But abuse survivor Andrew Madden said the words were too little, too late.
“We don’t need to be told it was a crime or a sin,” he said.
“The apology today is not for the cover-up, it’s for the abuse and for the most part they didn’t commit the abuse but they caused some because of the cover-up.
“That’s the bit they should say sorry for.”
