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  A Papal Visit

Albany Times Union
April 20, 2008

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=682140&category=OPINION&newsdate=4/20/2008

Almost from the moment his plane took off from Rome, Pope Benedict XVI seemed determined to address the clergy sex abuse scandal in America head on. En route to Washington, he told reporters how the scandal had made him ashamed. When he landed, he returned to the theme several times, calling pedophilia "evil." On Thursday, he told church leaders assembled in Washington's Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception that they had a "God-given responsibility" to heal the suffering of abuse victims and restore the trust of Roman Catholics in general. Later, he held a surprise meeting with abuse victims from Boston and prayed with them.

All of this may help heal some wounds and restore trust in the church for those who have experienced a crisis of faith because of the scandal. But if the Pope expects to be taken seriously on this issue, he will have to show more evidence that he is living up to his own standards and words. He can do that by holding accountable the bishops and other church leaders who, while not accused of abuse themselves, nonetheless enabled it by shifting pedophile priests from parish to parish, putting innocent youth at risk.

So far, there is scant evidence that any further action will be ordered beyond the nearly 700 priests who have been dismissed as a result of the investigations that began after the scandal broke, ignited when Boston's Cardinal Bernard Law acknowledged that abusive priests had been shuffled throughout his archdiocese. A few priests were even arrested and imprisoned as one case after another came to light throughout the country. But to date no bishop or cardinal has been held to account, including Cardinal Law. To the contrary, he has been given a secure post in Rome, where he is beyond the reach of American legal authorities, who might well arrest and prosecute him were he to set foot again in the U.S.

By ignoring this lapse in accountability and then placing the abuse scandal in the larger context of a secular society that is saturated with "crude manipulation of sexuality," the Pope fails to recognize that the scandal is as much about church leadership as it is about the abuse itself. If the leaders had been more vigilant, some of the thousands of recorded cases of abuse could have been avoided.

The victims of clergy sex abuse suffered for years not only because of what happened to them, but also because of the often dismissive way the church treated their complaints. In some cases, they were even blamed for bringing the abuse on themselves. It is understandable that they want more than just financial damages or the dismissal of abusive priests. They want to know that all those responsible, no matter their place in the hierarchy, are held to account. To paraphrase Pope Benedict XVI, the Vatican has a "God- given responsibility" to see that they are.

THE ISSUE:The Pope reaches out to victims of clergy abuse.

THE STAKES:His deeds must now match his words.

 
 

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