Abuse victims ask Vatican for meeting with Pope

Victims of abuse by a former priest submitted a letter to the Vatican today asking for a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI and urging him to apologise to all victims of clergy abuse.

The Rev. Thomas Doyle, a Dominican priest, lawyer and longtime advocate for sex abuse victims, entered one of the Vatican’s gates to deliver the letter, which also asks the Pope to dismiss any official involved in covering up the scandal and to instruct bishops to co-operate in the investigation of suspected cases.

The appeal was signed by Ann Jyono and Nancy Sloan, two victims of defrocked Irish priest Oliver O’Grady, who admits molesting as many as 25 children while a parish priest in California. He served seven years in prison for abusing two brothers and was deported to Ireland in 2001.

The Vatican had no immediate comment.

“I’ve often said that it’s soul murder, their souls are taken away from them by the priests that do it, but what makes it worse is the way they are treated by their bishops,” Doyle said.

Victims of clergy abuse charge that bishops covered up the scandal, ignoring the victims’ complaints and protecting pedophile priests by moving them from parish to parish each time new cases surfaced.

“Until they acknowledge us and help us to weed out the bad people in the church … how can I heal?” Jyono said as she broke down in tears in front of the Vatican gates.

“I want my faith back but I need their help.”

Sloan said she requested an audience with Benedict to ask him to instruct US bishops to disclose documents on the abuse cases and to meet with the victims.

Doyle had little hope the letter would have an impact.

“I’m not quite sure if the leadership of the Catholic Church even is able to understand how damaging this is to people. They look at their image, they look at the drainage of money,” he said.