BishopAccountability.org
	Pope Hopes Irish Abuse Letter Will Heal Wounds By Dominic Evans Washington Post March 17, 2010 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/17/AR2010031700423.html VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict, facing a spreading scandal of child sexual abuse by priests in the Roman Catholic Church, said on Wednesday he hopes his imminent letter on the problem will "help repentance, healing and renewal." Speaking in English to pilgrims and tourists in St Peter's Square for his general audience, Benedict announced that on Friday he will sign his long-awaited pastoral letter dealing with pedophilia in Ireland. It is expected to be released on Friday or Saturday, Vatican sources said. "As you know, in recent months the Church in Ireland has been severely shaken as a result of the child abuse crisis. As a sign of my deep concern I have written a pastoral letter dealing with this painful situation," he said. "I ask all of you to read it for yourselves, with an open heart and in a spirit of faith. My hope is that it will help in the process of repentance, healing and renewal," he said. The letter to the Irish people, the first ever papal document devoted exclusively to pedophilia, follows a damning government report on widespread child abuse by priests in the Dublin archdiocese. The Murphy Report, published in November, said the Church in Ireland had "obsessively" concealed child abuse in the Dublin archdiocese from 1975 to 2004, and operated a policy of "don't ask, don't tell." Although the pope's letter will be addressed to the Irish people, it is expected to touch on the effects of pedophilia sandals in a number of European countries, including his native Germany.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.