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	Editorial: Faithful Want Answers, Not Denials The Register Citizen April 9, 2010 http://www.registercitizen.com/articles/2010/04/09/opinion/doc4bbe9c8715644000893082.txt Last Friday, on the fifth anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II, many in the international Roman Catholic community expected the beatification of the popular pontiff to be announced. Instead, Vatican officials were defending him and his successor, Pope Benedict XVI, current head of the Roman Catholic Church, against allegations that they mishandled clerical sexual abuse cases for decades. It is not a new issue in the Roman Catholic Church. Here in the United States, it was brought to light in 2002 when a Boston priest was convicted of child molestation. The case unleashed an expose of alleged clerical abuse across the country. It is not unusual for victims of childhood sexual abuse to wait until adulthood to come forward because of intimidation by abusers who swear young victims to secrecy or threaten violence against them or loved ones if they reveal the abuse. Archdiocesan officials now inform civil authorities of alleged abuse as directed in 2002 by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children. That is little comfort to children who were abused by men of the cloth, the very people entrusted with their spiritual well-being. They often feel shame well into adulthood resulting in self-destructive behavior, even to the point of suicide. Those psychological wounds most likely have been ripped open by the current controversy in Rome, following recent revelations of alleged clerical sexual abuse in Europe including Ireland, Austria, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark. To add fuel to the fire, when Pope Benedict XVI, formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, headed the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, he reportedly dictated that he handle all abuse cases. The future pope reportedly oversaw the case of an Arizona priest who a church tribunal determined molested children as far back as the late 1970s, for 14 years before the man was defrocked in 2004. Outrage over these current revelations have been dismissed by the pope’s minions as an anti-Vatican smear campaign by the media, despite the call by many European bishops for transparency in dealing with the abuse of children. On Good Friday, the pope’s personal preacher actually likened the allegations that the pontiff covered up sex abuse cases, to the “more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism.” It was an insult to the intelligence of both Jews and Roman Catholics. Vatican officials quickly distanced themselves from the remark. For Vatican officials to characterize international outrage over clerical sexual abuse as an attempt by the media to smear the Catholic Church is not only a cheap shot, it exacerbates the perception of secrecy shrouding this ugly issue. For eight years now, Roman Catholics in the United States have been facing the issue of clerical sexual abuse head-on with the help of priests and bishops who wish to rid their ranks of such sinners. The faithful worldwide have now made it clear, they want answers. Denials from the Vatican will only set back the healing. Editorial courtesy of the Delaware County Times, a Journal Register Co. newspaper.
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