Tells Bishops to Confront 'Scourge,' Calls Parts of Scandal 'Very Badly Handled'
By Douglas Turner and Jay Tokasz
Buffalo News
April 17, 2008
http://www.buffalonews.com/180/story/325200.html
WASHINGTON — Pope Benedict XVI urged American bishops Wednesday to boldly confront the "scourge" of sexual abuse in their dioceses but noted it exists "in every sector of society."
Dealing with it, he told 350 bishops gathered for evening prayers called Vespers, will require their "determined, collective response."
In the first full day of his U.S. visit, Benedict said the scandal was sometimes "very badly handled," and he urged the bishops to work closely with priests who "experienced shame over what has occurred."
"There are those who feel they have lost some of the trust and esteem they once enjoyed," he said. "Not a few are experiencing a closeness to Christ in his Passion as they struggle to come to terms with the consequences of the crisis."
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| Pope Benedict XVI waves to the crowd from his popemobile, traveling along Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., after Wednesdays meeting with President Bush in the White House. Photo by Associated Press |
It was the second time in two days the pope commented directly on the scandal that has drawn scathing criticism of bishops for several years and cost dioceses billions in lawsuit settlements.
Benedict also delved into a variety of other areas, stressing the importance of upholding religious beliefs beyond "church on Sunday," cautioning against an "alarming decrease" in Catholic marriages in the United States and warning of "no room for complacency" in cultivating new vocations to the priesthood.
Religion cannot be just thought of as a "private matter" without any bearing on public behavior, the pope said.
He questioned how Catholics could ignore church teaching on sex, exploit or ignore the poor, or adopt positions contradicting "the right to life of every human being from conception to natural death."
"Any tendency to treat religion as a private matter must be resisted," he said.
Benedict's Vesper remarks capped a festive day that started at the White House and a South Lawn arrival ceremony — which also turned into a celebration for Benedict's 81st birthday. The pontiff offered the bishops no clear guidelines on how to treat Catholic- affiliated candidates for public office who break with the church over the issue of abortion, which it considers a sin, and still seek the sacraments.
In the 2004 presidential election, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops decided not to deny communion to Catholic candidates who support abortion. The bishops left that ruling unchanged in meetings that followed.
Some Catholic politicians who are pro-choice said Wednesday said they planned to take Communion today when the pope offers Mass in the new Nationals Stadium.
At the same time, Benedict urged the bishops "to participate in the exchange of ideas in the public square, helping to shape cultural attitudes."
"In a context where free speech is valued, and where vigorous and honest debate is encouraged, yours is a respected voice that has much to offer to the discussion of the pressing social and moral questions of the day."
Delivered in the friendly manner of a brother priest, and spiked with his German accent, the address was given in the grotto church of the mammoth Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the largest Catholic church in the United States.
Bishop Donald W. Trautman of the Diocese of Erie in Pennsylvania welcomed the encouragement of the Holy Father "to be more forthright" about matters of the faith as they relate to public policy.
"We are teachers of the faith, and we have to speak out forcefully," said Trautman, who told Mercyhurst College officials he would not attend graduation ceremonies in May as he usually does because the college recently hosted a talk by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, a pro-choice Democratic presidential candidate.
"I think people have been afraid to speak out, but more than ever we have to." Trautman was the former auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo.
The pope addressed the challenge of finding more priests, fighting a growing tide of individualism and bolstering marriages and families — issues that American bishops have struggled with for years.
"He put everything in perspective. It's nothing really new to us, but he was saying, 'I'm there with you,' " said Auxiliary Bishop Edward M. Grosz of the Diocese of Buffalo.
The pope smiled often over his reading glasses, especially when the bishops sang "Happy Birthday, Holy Father." He heard it first Wednesday morning from a group of schoolchildren outside the Vatican Embassy, as he left for the impressive reception at the White House.
Throngs of admirers surrounded the professorial pontiff throughout the day, lining the roads on which he traveled in his popemobile and shouting cheers and well wishes.
Deacon Michael P. McKeating of Buffalo was one of several Western New Yorkers who followed Benedict XVI to each of the pope's stops.
They plan to continue the journey today, before moving on to New York city.
"We'll be there when he arrives," Friday morning, said McKeating, a member of the group called the Neocatechumenal Way. "It's what we do; we encourage him wherever he goes."
Even some of the bishops snapped photos of Benedict XVI following his talk.
A record White House Rose Garden crowd of 13,500 spontaneously serenaded him and again heard soprano Kathleen Battle sing Happy Birthday, after rendering the Lord's Prayer.
President Bush welcomed the pope as a strong defender of life and freedom.
"In a world where some treat life as something to be debased and discarded, we need your message that all human life is sacred and that each of us is willed, each of us is loved. And your message that each of us is willed, each of us is loved, and each of us is necessary."
Neither the pope nor president mentioned the Iraq War, now in its sixth year, which Bush started and the pope in 2003, as Cardinal Joseph Rat-zinger, strongly opposed as did then- Pope John Paul II.
In the Rose Garden, the pope stressed themes of self-discipline and responsibility.
"Freedom is not only a gift," the pope said, "but also a summons to personal responsibility. . . . The preservation of freedom calls for the cultivation of virtue, self-discipline, sacrifice for the common good and a sense of responsibility towards the less fortunate.
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