ROME
Reuters
6:05 a.m. CST, February 12, 2013
By James Mackenzie
ROME, Feb 11 (Reuters) – Pope Benedict leaves office having failed to stamp out the sexual abuse of children by priests and with the culture of secrecy that fostered the scandal still in place, groups representing some of the victims said on Monday.
Bishops Accountability, a U.S. pressure group, said the pope had apologised frequently for the harm done by priests but had never taken effective action to rectify the “incalculable harm” done to hundreds of thousands of children by predatory clergy.
“Benedict’s words rang hollow. He spoke as a shocked bystander, as if he had just stumbled upon the abuse crisis,” Anne Barrett Doyle, the group’s co-director said in a statement.
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