By Pamela Newenham
Irish Times
March 22, 2010
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0322/1224266809487.html
IRELAND -- CHILDREN'S SAFETY1: POPE BENEDICT'S pastoral letter neglected to apportion any responsibility for clerical sex abuse to the Vatican, a group representing abuse survivors said.
The pope speaks only of the failures in the Irish church, and neglects to mention the role played by the Vatican, Maeve Lewis, executive director of One in Four, said at a press conference after the letter was issued.
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| Maeve Lewis, executive director of One in Four - one of the groups representing abuse survivors - at a press conference in Dublin after the release of Pope Benedict's pastoral letter. Photo by Aidan Crawley |
"If the church cannot acknowledge this fundamental truth, it is still in denial," she said. "We are astounded at the pope's assertion that the roots of clerical sexual abuse lie in the secularisation of Irish society, the falling off of religious devotion and failures to adhere to canon law."
Ms Lewis said Irish victims of clerical child sexual abuse were deeply disappointed by the letter "for passing up a glorious opportunity to address the core issue in the clerical sexual abuse scandal: the deliberate policy of the Catholic Church at the highest levels to protect sex offenders".
"While we welcome the pope's direction that the church leadership co-operate with the civil authorities in relation to sexual abuse . . . we feel the letter falls far short of addressing the concerns of the victims," she said.
The victim advocacy group said victims were hoping for an acknowledgement of the scurrilous ways in which they had been treated as they attempted to bring their experiences of abuse to the attention of the church authorities.
"The lack of an apology to them in this regard is hurtful in the extreme."
The group said it was up to the State to now accept that child protection is the responsibility of the civil authorities.
"The Government must now prioritise the safety of all Irish children."
Dublin abuse victim Marie Collins said the pope and Irish hierarchy "still see everything through the eyes of canon law and church law. That's what's disappointing about it".
Referring to the pope's message, that he would be willing to meet victims to acknowledge their suffering personally, Ms Collins said she would only do so if there was two-way interaction and discussion.
She said she would ask him "what has canon law to do with Jesus Christ and the church Jesus founded? I would ask why the church can't get back to the basic Christian message," she added.
Paddy Doyle, author of The God Squad, echoed Ms Collins saying that there would be "no kowtowing or kissing rings if I meet the pope".
He said the pastoral letter was insufficient as "he [Pope Benedict] hasn't put his hands up and said guilty. He blamed everyone".
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