ROME
Daily Mail (UK)
‘We don’t believe it’s saintly behaviour’: Abuse victims attack John Paul II’s failure to stamp out Catholic paedophiles, as one million gather to see him canonised alongside John XXIII
Abuse victims of Catholic priests have said that former Pope John Paul II does not deserve to be made a saint because of his failure to bring perpetrators to justice during his reign.
John Paul, who was head of the Catholic church from 1978 until his death in 2005, ‘enabled wrongdoing’ and was more interested in protecting the Church’s reputation than helping victims, according to campaigners.
The former pontiff is due to be canonised tomorrow alongside John XXIII, who was Pope from 1958-1963 in an unprecedented ceremony expected to be watched by around one million Catholics.
Barbara Blaine, the president of the Survivors’ Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), spoke out against John Paul today.
Mrs Blaine told the Daily Telegraph: ‘It’s time for the Vatican to stop honouring those who enabled wrongdoing. Thousands of victims were abused because John Paul refused to read the reports he was receiving.’
Nicky Davis, a 50-year-old from Australia who was abused, said: ‘We don’t believe it’s saintly behaviour to allow sex abuse to continue for a 27-year reign. He could have used his enormous power to save children but instead he decided to save the reputation of the Church.’
The organisation also published an open letter on their website to other abuse victims. It said: ‘At best, [John Paul] turned a blind eye to clergy sexual crimes and cover-ups. At worst, he perpetuated and approved them.
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