By Paul Hutcheon, Scottish Political Editor
Pope Benedict XVI yesterday issued a condemnation of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and instructed bishops to do whatever was necessary to prevent such offences.
In rare comments about the sensitive issue, the religious leader said the church needed to establish the truth about abuses and ensure that “the principles of justice are fully respected”.
“In the exercise of your pastoral ministry, you have had to respond in recent years to many heart-rending cases of sexual abuse of minors,” the pope told Irish bishops gathering at the Vatican.
“The wounds caused by such acts run deep, and it is an urgent task to rebuild confidence and trust where these have been damaged,” he added.
Although he was addressing bishops from Ireland, which had one of the church’s worst sexual abuse scandal rates, the words will resonate in other parts of the world, including the US.
A US paedophile priest scandal that erupted in Boston in 2002 spread to almost every Catholic diocese in the country, with several priests being prosecuted and multimillion dollar payments made to scores of victims.
US church files have also revealed that some bishops repeatedly transferred priests accused of abusing minors to other parishes rather than reporting them to police.
In Scotland, the Catholic Church attempted to deal with the issue in 2001 when Archbishop Keith O’Brien, now a cardinal, issued an apology “to those who, over the years, have suffered any form of abuse at the hands of those representing the Catholic Church”.
In 2004, the first minister, Jack McConnell, addressed institutional abuse, telling MSPs he wanted to make a “sincere and full” apology on behalf of the people of Scotland to the victims of abuse in children’s residential homes.
The pope said: “It is important to establish the truth of what happened in the past ... to take whatever steps are necessary to prevent it from occurring again,” according to a copy of the speech released by the Vatican.
“Above all, [it is important] to bring healing to the victims and to all those affected by these egregious crimes.”
In the case of Ireland, revelations in the 1990s of systematic sexual abuse of young parishioners by priests over decades shattered the silent reverence in which most Irish people held the Catholic Church. They have also been blamed for bringing down attendance.
The pope said such crimes should be seen as exceptions in Ireland.
“The fine work and selfless dedication of the great majority of priests in Ireland should not be obscured by the transgressions of some of their brethren,” he said.
“I am certain that the people understand this and continue to regard their clergy with affection and esteem.”
In May, the pope took his first major decision involving sexual abuse charges since his election last year, disciplining the ageing Mexican founder of an influential Catholic religious order who was accused of sexual abuse and instructing him to retire to a life of “prayer and penitence”.
A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Glasgow praised the ^pope for his intervention: “The pope speaks for everyone in his summation of what needs to be done. His words will be welcomed on all sides.”
29 October 2006
