UNITED STATES
Huffington Post
Michael D’Antonio
In 1993, more than seven years after the Catholic sexual abuse crisis began, John Paul II acknowledged it for the first time. He called it evil, and expressed his concern for how much his brother bishops and the faithful “are suffering because of certain cases of scandal given by members of the clergy.”
It was the scandal, not the rape and molestation of children that was the main problem, according to the Pope. Indeed, he didn’t mention the pain, suffering and loss of faith among victims, nor did he use words like “abuse” or “rape.” Instead he referred to “certain offenses” and “sins” and he said that America’s bishops had two responsibilities in the face of the crisis — to deal with problem priests and their victims and to address the damage done to society when the Church is swept by scandal.
By any measure, John Paul II’s sentiments were focused primarily on the welfare of the Church. The problem of clergy abuse was, he said, a product of an American society that “needs much prayer — lest it lose its soul.” Prayer was the primary remedy recommended by John Paul II, but he also suggested temperance on the part of the mass media. “Evil can indeed be sensational,” he wrote, “but the sensationalism surrounding it is always dangerous for morality.” This point, echoed repeated complaints by priests and bishops who said the media and plaintiffs lawyers were exaggerating claims, stirring public animosity, and singling out Catholicism in a bigoted way.
Anyone who missed the Pope’s point could turn to his spokesman Joaquín Navarro-Valls for clarification. “One would have to ask if the real culprit is not a society that is irresponsibly permissive, hyper-inflated with sexuality and capable of creating circumstances that induce even people who have received a sound moral formation to commit grave immoral acts.”
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