UNITED KINGDOM
The Guardian
Jonathan Freedland
The Guardian, Friday 15 February 2013
We should not let Benedict XVI go quietly. One hesitates to say so, because he is elderly and frail and, much more importantly, because he is revered by many millions. Outsiders should tread warily, mindful that the papacy is central to Catholics’ faith, even to their very identity. We ought to signal from the start that we mean no attack on Catholics or their beliefs when we say that the departing occupant of that high office has a moral, if not legal, case to answer. But such a case there is.
The heart of the matter is the rape and abuse of children by Catholic priests. The child abuse scandal in the Catholic church has spread to some 65 countries, with victims estimated to be in the many thousands: one survivors’ group has 12,000 members, each with a heartbreaking story to tell. There will be many more victims who have stayed silent. Few would deny that this is the greatest single moral issue confronting the church.
For some, Benedict has proven himself on the right side of this most searching question. They note that he has closed loopholes in canon law, that he has centralised the handling of cases – rather than allowing each diocese to do its own thing – and that he has, above all, apologised on behalf of the church. In 2010, as cases emerged with alarming frequency – not just in the US, where the first major revelations came to light, but in Germany, Switzerland, Holland and elsewhere – the pope sent a message to the Irish victims of abuse: “You have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry.” He acknowledged that their dignity had been “violated” and said the guilty men would “answer before God”.
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