Pope’s stance misrepresented by photo caption

THE prominent caption under a picture of Pope Benedict XVI, published with the article headlined ‘Crunch time for the Church’ (January 21), gave a seriously contradictory impression of the concern and importance which Pope Benedict attaches to the safeguarding of children in the Church.

The caption read “Pope Benedict XVI: Has not referred to ‘sinful’ nature of abuse.” However the quote in full from the article reads: “Crucially, the German Pontiff has underlined his ability to call a spade a spade by repeatedly referring to the ‘criminal’ and not just the sinful nature of child abuse.” What a huge difference the context can make to the impression given by the caption.

Over the past five years of his pontificate, and in his previous role in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Pope Benedict has been forthright in his approach to dealing with the issue of child abuse and in getting his message across.