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	Abuse, Denial Times-Tribune March 28, 2010 http://thetimes-tribune.com/opinion/abuse-denial-1.702259 PENNSYLVANIA -- The Vatican newspaper last week characterized a mounting sexual abuse scandal as a global media conspiracy against the Catholic Church "as if," L'Osservatore Romano said, "it were the only one responsible for sexual abuse." Sexual abuse of children actually is a common feature of secular news coverage just about everywhere. The problem for the Catholic Church, and the reason for the media focus, is the Vatican's failure to decisively deal with it. When the epidemic of abuse in the United States first was revealed about a decade ago, the Vatican called it an "American problem," that is, an element of the decadent American culture rather than a problem within the church. Welcome aboard Ireland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and several other European countries where widespread sexual abuse by priests has occurred. The focus now is particularly sharp because of the role of Pope Benedict XVI when he was archbishop of Munich, where several abusive priests were reassigned rather than disciplined on his watch, and later as head of the Vatican office charged with disciplining priests. Vatican officials blame the media and wonder when it's all going to end. The answer is when they embrace transparency and zero tolerance for offenders and their enablers in the hierarchy.
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