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  Pope Takes Important Step to Heal Sex Abuse Wounds

Vindicator
April 18, 2008

http://www.vindy.com/news/2008/apr/18/pope-takes-important-step-to-heal-sex-abuse-wounds/

Pope takes important step to heal sex abuse wounds

Considering it was his first visit to the United States since becoming pope three years ago. Benedict XVI could easily have made only passing mention of the sexual abuse of minors by priests, the scandal that has rocked the American Catholic Church.

But Pope Benedict addressed the issue directly and honestly during a meeting with the nation's bishops at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

For that he deserves the appreciation of all Catholics who have long decried the tepid response of the church's hierarchy to the scandal.

A heavy toll

With 5,000 priests accused of abusing 12,000 children and teenagers, and with the church paying out more than $2 billion to settle lawsuits, the issue will not go away without real closure for the victims and their families, and for Catholics who feel betrayed.

"It is your God-given responsibility as pastors to bind up the wounds caused by every breach of trust, to foster healing, to promote reconciliation and to reach out with loving concern to those so seriously wronged," the pope told the bishops.

However, Benedict stopped short of providing any specifics as to how the church should ensure that "the vulnerable always be shielded from those who would cause harm."

The bishops have adopted various policies for dealing with pedophile priests, the most important being that they would not be permitted to perform clerical duties in another parish.

One of the criticisms of some of the bishops is that rather than isolating priests who were shown to have abused children, they assigned them to other parishes.

But while the pope's remarks to the American church leaders did attract media attention, they were dismissed by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests as falling short.

"Five years ago, U.S. bishops ... begrudgingly adopted some minimal promises on paper," said Barbara Dorris, SNAP's outreach director. "There's no evidence to suggest they've had any real impact, and it's terribly naive to assume that's the case. Child sex crimes and cover-ups have plagued the church for decades, and the church is an ancient, rigid, secretive, all-male hierarchy that moves at a glacial pace."

While Dorris' observations do have some credibility, it is unfair not to give the pope some credit for dealing with this painful issue head-on.

The next step

The one question that he and the bishops must address has to do with those church leaders who protected abusive priests.

We have long criticized the Vatican for not paying closer attention to the cover-up by bishops of hundreds of sexual abuse cases documented throughout the country.

In the most publicized case, former Boston Cardinal Bernard Law not only avoided any punishment for protecting abuser priests, but was rewarded by the late Pope John Paul II with an assignment to Rome.

Three years ago, a grand jury investigating sexual abuse allegations in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia accused former archbishops and other leaders of concealing and facilitating clergy sex abuse of children for decades. Jurors, who investigated the diocese for more than three years, found that least 63 priests sexually abused hundreds of minors and that Cardinals John Krol and Anthony J. Bevilacqua "excused and enabled the abuse."

As a follow-up to his address this week, Pope Benedict should open an investigation into all the allegations against the leaders of the American Catholic Church and then decide how they should pay for their sins.

 
 

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