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	Bishop Attacks Popes over Abuse By Graham Downie The Canberra Times August 25, 2007 http://canberra.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass= general&story_id=1042821&category=general A prominent Australian Catholic bishop has accused the Pope and his predecessor of failing to take decisive action to answer the epidemic of child sex abuse within the church. Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, a former auxiliary bishop of Sydney, said the two popes were guilty of a "notable and extraordinary absence of guidance or direction" that had denied justice to victims of abuse by priests and other religious personnel. The accusations are contained in Bishop Robinson's book Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church published today. It is expected to reignite public debate over the church's response to sex abuse victims. Bishop Robinson wrote the book after standing down as head of the national church commission handing abuse claims in protest at the hierarchy's failure to deal openly with the problem He acknowledged the book was likely to cause division in the church, but said if that if no one spoke up, discussion and study of the causes of abuse by priests and religious would not begin. He said compulsory celibacy for priests and religious had contributed to sexual abuse and must at least be on the table for discussion. "Some may speak all they wish of the benefits of this celibacy for the church, but others will not stop asking, 'How many abused children is celibacy worth'?" Celibacy could contribute to unhealthy psychology, unhealthy ideas, and an unhealthy environment. "Within the Catholic Church, there is a constant insistence that on all important matters Catholics must look to the Pope for guidance and direction. " When a major matter arises, therefore, and there is a notable and extraordinary absence of guidance or direction from the Pope as was certainly the case in relation to the sexual abuse of minors it is inevitable that many will react according to older values rather than with a new mind to meet a new problem. "Those older values have for a thousand years included secrecy, the covering over of problems and the protection of the good name of the Church." For nine years from 1994, Bishop Robinson was a member of the Catholic Church's professional standards committee, established by the Australian bishops to deal with the increasing wave of complaints of sexual abuse. He was chairman of the committee from 1996, but resigned as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Sydney about two years ago, disillusioned by the church's handling of the matter, particularly over his conviction there needed to be a real confrontation over power and sex. He is convinced that if the Pope had spoken clearly at the beginning of the revelations of abuse, inviting victims to come forward, consistently putting victims before the good name of the Church, its entire response would have been far better. In his home next to St Joseph's Church in Enfield, Sydney, where he says mass twice every Sunday, he spoke this week of his life as a priest, beginning when aged 12 with his entry to the seminary. In his book, and in our discussion, he said this was entirely inappropriate. "There have been cases where people have been taken into a seminary or novitiate at too young an age and, because of the environment, their psychosexual development has not progressed beyond the age of about 15 years, so that it is minors towards whom they are attracted." Bishop Robinson makes no secret of his disappointment on the lack of leadership by successive popes over sexual abuse. "I have to say I do not believe we received good leadership from the one person within the Catholic Church who has the power to give that leadership."
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