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  Canadian Cardinal Jumps to the Defence of Pope

By Amy Husser
Montreal Gazette
March 27, 2010

http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/Canadian+Cardinal+jumps+defence+Pope/2735100/story.html

CANADA -- One of Canada's highest-ranking Roman Catholic officials has joined the ranks of those coming to the defence of Pope Benedict XVI, as the pontiff faces allegations he turned a blind eye to priests who were sexually abusing children.

The scandal has led to some calls for Benedict to resign, and on Saturday one Swiss newspaper reportedly called him "the biggest sinner in the whole Catholic Church."

A file photo of Cardinal Marc Ouellet.
Photo by Francis Vachon

Cardinal Marc Ouellet — who is the Primate of the Catholic Church in Canada — posted a statement on the website of his archdiocese in Quebec City that denounced the reports from "several media" this week.

"The Holy Father has always testified to the same spirit of zero tolerance on the subject . . . during each one of his responsibilities leading to his pontification," Ouellet said in a French statement posted Friday. "To claim the opposite is to be deeply mistaken about this just and compassionate man."

The statement was preceded by a reiteration of the archdiocese's "zero tolerance" policy against all types of abuse.

The Vatican has been forced to deal with a new wave of sexual-abuse allegations following at least two accounts published in the New York Times this week.

One report said the future Pope Benedict XVI — then known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger — did not defrock a priest who molested as many as 200 deaf boys under his care at a Wisconsin-based school between 1950 and 1975 despite being alerted to the case by several U.S. bishops.

And on Friday, the Times also reported that Benedict has been informed of a decision to transfer a German priest undergoing therapy for pedophilia back to full pastoral duties — a post where he would have contact with children.

"The question of the sexual abuse committed by priests is an unspeakable drama which affects all Catholics," Ouellet wrote in the French statement. "I myself am deeply disturbed by the confirmation of each case."

He ends the statement by saying his prayers go out to all the victims of such cases, and that "never again" is his wish for them and the church.

Catholic churches in Europe have been issuing similar calls while praising Benedict as the leader determined to combat the scandals that challenge the church.

France's bishops conference, the archbishop of London and the Munich archdiocese that Benedict once headed all rejected the allegations Friday, one day after the Vatican angrily accused its critics of an "ignoble attempt" to smear the Holy Father.

"Very Holy Father . . . we send you a cordial message of support in this difficult period our Church is going through," the French bishops said in a statement that referred to "a campaign to attack your person and your service to the Church."

Writing in the London Times, Archbishop Vincent Nichols said Benedict made important changes in church law to fight child abuse when he was the Vatican's top doctrinal official.

"He is not an idle observer. His actions speak as well as his words," he wrote.

Both Nichols and the French bishops expressed sympathy with abuse victims and said their national churches had taken decisive steps to root out offenders and safeguard children.

"I am ashamed of what happened and understand the outrage and anger it has provoked," Nichols wrote.

"We all feel shame and regret at the abominable acts committed by certain priests," the French statement said.

The Vatican has vigorously defended the Holy Father's record — both before and during his five-year papacy.

 
 

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