ROME
The Irish Times
PADDY AGNEW in Rome
IT WOULD be “wonderful” if Pope Benedict publicly sought forgiveness for church leaders who put loyalty to their institution ahead of children’s safety, clerical sex abuse survivor Marie Collins told an audience in Rome.
Addressing a press conference to promote “Towards Healing and Renewal”, a four-day symposium being held this week at the Pontifical Gregorian University in the city, Ms Collins conceded it had not been easy to accept an invitation to attend the church-run event.
Pointing an accusatory finger at Irish primate Cardinal Seán Brady, she said: “We know that among the many reasons for the anger of survivors is that despite apologies for the actions of the abusers, there have been few apologies for the protection given to them by their superiors.
“There seems to be a lack of a penalty for any of these men in leadership who deliberately or negligently covered up for these abusers, letting them continue to abuse new victims unhindered . . . We have an example of this in our own cardinal primate.”
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