Faced with a church sexual abuse scandal spreading across Europe, Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday apologized directly to victims and their families in Ireland, expressing “shame and remorse” for what he called “sinful and criminal” acts committed by clergy.
But the pope did not require that church leaders be disciplined for past mistakes as some victims were hoping; nor did he clarify what critics see as contradictory Vatican rules they fear allow abuse to continue unpunished.
“You have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry,” the pope said in a long-awaited, eight-page pastoral letter to Irish Catholics. “Your trust has been betrayed and your dignity has been violated.”
The strong letter was written in language at once passionate, personal and sweeping. And the pope did take the relatively rare step of ordering a special apostolic delegation to be sent to unspecified dioceses in Ireland to investigate. But even that action raised questions among critics who wondered what the investigators might unearth beyond what was found in two wide-ranging and scathing Irish government reports released last year. One of those reports said the church and the police in Ireland had systematically colluded in covering up decades of sexual abuse by priests in Dublin.
This is a good start. The Pope needs to admit his own role in the cover ups (as a Cardinal/Archbishop) and institute specific penalties.
This rendering is not exactly accurate: the Pope also said that the perpetrators should be brought to justice in civil courts. The RC Church does not any longer have its own ecclesiastical trial courts which can convict and imprison in the way that they did in Medieval times. He also included ecclesiastical disciplining of priests by diocesan bishops. This article makes it sound like the Pope recommended doing nothing concrete at all, and that is not what his statement says.
If memory serves, there have already been a bishop or two dismissed, and priests disciplined. Moreover, the letter specifically instructs offending priests to “submit to the requirements of justice”.
That the NYT might be “not exactly accurate” is hardly a surprise.
Sidenote: NPR’s headline is surprisingly restrained.
I have rarely, rarely ever commented on any blog in my life, but I feel I must say this. I am extremely extremely saddened and hurt by this scandal. But, I have never been more affirmed in my belief in Christ and to be part of His Church because this scandal wounds us all. This scandal brings a physical dimension and reality to what it means to be part of the Body of Christ. That one part of that body wounds the entire body.
The sins of those awful bishops/priests . . . they are our sins too (not literally, of course). But they reflect the sad reality of our world and of our own personal shortcomings and failings. While the Church takes a public flogging on behalf of those bishops (it would be, indeed, easier for the Church to publicly denounce and offer the heads of those offending men like Enron did) I cannot help but think that Christ took a bloody beating for us.
Who says that real, corporeal union with a church or “organized” religion serves no purpose? I think this scandal serves as a perfect example: that our actions have real consequences and the reality of those consequences ought to motivate us to become better witnesses for Christ.
And here I am in the TAC and ACA whichis about to body up next to the Roman Church without, it thinks, actually contact. My pastor, for the last two weeks has “explained” to the congregation how this is a great benefit and will cause us no harm whatsoever. But one thing he didn’t do owas ask the congregation whether it thought this was a good idea or a bad one. The two people sitting next to me muttered that it was a DREADFUL idea. So what we got was a fait accompli and if you don’t like it, tough….
This move is appalling in its blindness. The Roman Church has had the homosexual problem for centuries. Now, it has simply become public, and one needs to be incredibly naive not to believe that what we have seen and read is not simply the tip of the iceberg. And the seminaries have not been cleansed either. How often must the old and painful lesson need to iterated, “Lie down with dogs, rise with fleas?” How can the TAC move into the same stable with the Romans before that Augean task is undertaken? There is a moral blindness here that is quite beyond comprehension – save that the power structure wants Roman Catholicism at any cost, and has every intention of dragging its congregations with it, even kicking and scratching. Larry
[blockquote] How can the TAC move into the same stable with the Romans before that Augean task is undertaken? [/blockquote]
Seems to be a case of the pot calling the kettle black:
[url=http://reformation.com/CSA/episcopalianabuse.html]List of 140 cases of Episcopal/Anglican sex abuse[/url]
Remove the smote from your own eye first.
Humans sin and will likely continue doing so. No faith is immune from sin. So let’s drop the holier than thou pretense.
Larry — why can’t your congregation leave TAC/ACA and join some other Anglican entity?
Yes, Larry, I hope you don’t go along for the ride and that the other two you mentioned don’t either. I’m sure there is another body of believers that reflects more closely your personal convictions.
I thought we weren’t supposed to be encouraging others to leave their churches?