By Mark Waffel
Spiegel (Germany)
April 21, 2008
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,548744,00.html
The success of the pope's US visit depended on how he addressed the child sex abuse scandal that had shaken the American Catholic Church. German media commentators Monday heap praise on Benedict for the open and personal way he spoke about the scandal.
The pope's six day visit to the US received blanket media coverage around the world. Many of the headlines related to his handling of the most difficult and serious issue of the trip (more...): the sex abuse scandal that has rocked the American Catholic Church for the past six years.
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| German newspapers were full of praise for the pope for his handling of the sex abuse scandal during his visit to America. Photo by REUTERS |
At nearly every relevant public occasion during the visit, Benedict XVI addressed the scandal openly and offered words of comfort for the victims and the church as a whole. Even during his flight to Washington, he told reporters he was "deeply ashamed" about the child sex abuse scandal and the church would do all it could in the future to prevent that kind of abuse from happening again.
But maybe the most significant moment came when the pope met several victims of pedophile priests. During Thursday's surprise and unprecedented meeting, the pope silently prayed with the victims and listened to the details of their abuse.
German commentators praised the pope in Monday's papers for the unflinching way he addressed the scandal -- which was seen as key to the success of his visit.
The center-left Sddeutsche Zeitung writes:
"The pope addressed the scandal, which has been plaguing the over 60 million US Catholics for the last six years, very personally and as though it had genuinely affected him. Since 1950 over 5,000 priests have sexually abused over 12,000 juveniles. By committing those crimes, they shook the trust of millions of believers in their own clergy. The pope professed to 'deep shame,' demanded 'inner purification' of his church and took it upon himself to look some of the victims in the eye -- at least for 25 minutes."
"The gesture might help to heal the wounds, which Rome also has inflicted over the years. Joseph Ratzinger, the once cardinal and highest custodian of the faith, knew the facts of the scandal better than hardly anyone else. He also hesitated a long time, before facing up to the terrible truth. The pope's public remorse in America can, quite rightly, also be interpreted as an act of very personal penitence."
The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes:
"The fact that US Catholics are describing Benedict XVI's first pastoral visit to America as historic is in large part down to his handling of the sex abuse scandal. At nearly every public appearance and at every mass the pope lamented the pain and damage pedophile priests had done to their thousands of victims and the church, as well."
"The pope's visit is, so far, the most significant step for the American church to overcome its toughest crisis. But it certainly has not overcome the scandal. In light of the sex abuse scandal, the pope said, it is more important to have good priests and clergy than to have many of them. However, that cannot paper over the fact there is a clergy shortage. Thousands of congregations do not have a resident priest. The average age of active priests is around 60 years. Churches, playschools and schools have to be closed."
The left-leaning Die Tageszeitung writes:
"What his predecessor Karel Wojtyla did not want to properly address, Joseph Ratzinger finally had to confront: the pedophile priests scandals. And to the surprise of everyone he did so with determination. Until now the abusers knew they would not face any serious consequences. Many bishops were inclined not to speak openly about their black sheep. The new pope met, at his own request, with some of the sex abuse victims -- a signal to his nearly 200 bishops that they will need to apply sanctions in the future. A cardinal already hinted that the relevant canonical law will eventually be changed. But what exactly the pope has in mind, though, is still unclear."
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