Editorial toward Reconciliation There Is Still a Long Road Ahead, but the Pope Took an Extraordinary Step Last Week in Regard to the Clergy Sexual Abuse Crisis in the Catholic Church, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 20, 2008

Editorial: toward Reconciliation
There Is Still a Long Road Ahead, but the Pope Took an Extraordinary Step Last Week in Regard to the Clergy Sexual Abuse Crisis in the Catholic Church

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
April 20, 2008

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=741130

In his visit to the United States last week, Pope Benedict XVI talked about a range of issues, from academic freedom to human rights to the need for more international cooperation to "a growing forgetfulness of God" in the U.S. But it was his attention to the clergy sexual abuse issue and his singular meeting with a small group of victims of such abuse that will resonate for many.

Pope Benedict XVI walks up the processional ramp to the altar to conduct Mass on Sunday at Yankee Stadium in New York.
Photo by AP

Expected to address the matter only once, the pope returned to the issue repeatedly. He talked about the crisis as a cause of "deep shame." He told American bishops that the problem sometimes has been very "badly handled" and said it was their duty to heal the wounds caused by abuse. He asked Catholic parishioners at a Mass on Thursday "to do what you can to foster healing and reconciliation and to assist those who have been hurt."

And he apologized to victims, meeting with a handful on Thursday for 25 minutes. Two Boston-area victims of abuse shared details of the meeting in interviews late Thursday with The Associated Press. One man who had been abused as an altar boy said he placed his hand over Pope Benedict XVI's heart as he pleaded with the pope to fix the problem of sexual abuse of minors. The pontiff apologized for his poor grasp of English and for "everything," according to another victim.

The meeting was believed to have been the first time a pope had met with victims of clergy sexual abuse and was an extraordinary moment in a dark chapter. But it was also simply the right thing to do, something that should have been done.

What's needed now are more such moments. American bishops and parishioners have to take the pope's words to heart. Thousands of victims of the more than 4,000 priests accused of molesting minors in the U.S. since 1950 are still in pain. Their claims need to be effectively addressed. The Catholic Church and its officials need to be much more open about the accusations, the accused and the complicity of the church hierarchy in what happened. There is still a long road ahead - but Pope Benedict did take an extraordinary step last week.