Pope Apologizes for Clergy Sexual Abuse

July 20, 2008

Click to Read

Pope Apologizes for Clergy Sexual Abuse
Pope Benedict XVI apologized Saturday for the sexual abuse of children by Australia's Roman Catholic clergy, keeping up efforts begun in the United States to publicly atone for what he called evil acts by priests. The apology did not satisfy representatives of the victims. They said it must be backed by Vatican orders to Australian bishops to stop alleged efforts to cover up the extent of the problem and block attempts to win compensation. The Pope also said today that a "spiritual desert" is spreading throughout the world.

Comments

34 Comments

lilkimbo 4 years 43 weeks

Also, since these priests have been relocated, how do you know that they are not suspended? They could be at their new location, but not practicing. I was also careful to specifically state that they were only suspended, not completely defrocked, upon initial allegations.

lilkimbo 4 years 43 weeks

I was just relaying what I had read, which is why I specifically prefaced it with, "I have read..."

scisrbeatspapr 4 years 43 weeks

"I have definitely read that many, many more priests have been let go than that. (I can't speak as much to the situation in Australia, but am speaking of the situation in the U.S). I have read that all of those with allegations against them are indefinitely suspended and that when the allegations are proven true, they are let go." actually i know of 4 priests in the philadelphia/allentown area alone AND A SISTER that have had abuse chargers put against them and were relocated instead of defrocked. One of which attempted to abuse my sister when she was younger. Just a few months ago, a sister was being harbored in the Sisters of St. Joseph's villa in Flourtown, PA and protestors were marching for her removal.The church completely ignored it even though it raised substantial news coverage in philly for awhile. so no you can't say that ALL allegations are taken to heart. That sister still teaches at my old school, Chestnut Hill College.

scisrbeatspapr 4 years 43 weeks

"I have definitely read that many, many more priests have been let go than that. (I can't speak as much to the situation in Australia, but am speaking of the situation in the U.S). I have read that all of those with allegations against them are indefinitely suspended and that when the allegations are proven true, they are let go."actually i know of 4 priests in the philadelphia/allentown area alone AND A SISTER that have had abuse chargers put against them and were relocated instead of defrocked. One of which attempted to abuse my sister when she was younger. Just a few months ago, a sister was being harbored in the Sisters of St. Joseph's villa in Flourtown, PA and protestors were marching for her removal.The church completely ignored it even though it raised substantial news coverage in philly for awhile. so no you can't say that ALL allegations are taken to heart. That sister still teaches at my old school, Chestnut Hill College.

lilkimbo 4 years 43 weeks

Stop confusing me with new avatars! Anyway, I did word it in a confusing way. I guess I initially thought it was handled poorly, but feel the situation has been handled a lot better recently. I guess by pre-conceived I meant before you did the Google search, not before we knew anything about the situation.

lilkimbo 4 years 43 weeks

Stop confusing me with new avatars!Anyway, I did word it in a confusing way. I guess I initially thought it was handled poorly, but feel the situation has been handled a lot better recently. I guess by pre-conceived I meant before you did the Google search, not before we knew anything about the situation.

stephley 4 years 43 weeks

I had to think about that for a while, but okay. I'm not sure how your pre-conceived idea could be that it wasn't handled poorly isn't being handled poorly now, but I was brought up in a strict atmosphere so maybe that's just me.

lilkimbo 4 years 43 weeks

It means that your pre-conceived ideas are that the situation was handled poorly and continues to be handled poorly, not that the Church is an evil institution.

lilkimbo 4 years 43 weeks

I know you are a member of the Church, which is why I specifically didn't state that it depends on your pre-conceived ideas of the Church, but of the situation.

stephley 4 years 43 weeks

assumes

stephley 4 years 43 weeks

assumes

stephley 4 years 43 weeks

Which assums my pre-conceived ideas automatically lean toward making the Church, to which I belong and in which I am raising my daughter, look bad. Maybe the press doesn't have access to a consolidated list of Church actions and can only investigate what has happened to priests whose names become public.

stephley 4 years 43 weeks

lilkimbo 4 years 43 weeks

To me, it suggests that the media likes to make the Catholic Church look bad and is unwilling to report any hard numbers. I guess it all depends on your pre-conceived ideas of the situation.

stephley 4 years 43 weeks

I just searched "Catholic priests, defrocked, suspended" on google and in 10 pages (there were more...) couldn't find any comprehensive numbers, just random cases. I find that interesting by itself - lots of info about how much money has been paid out, bits and pieces concerning the accused. I did see that some are suspended but not fired, while others are completely defrocked. To me, it suggests that the Church still plays the key details close to the vest.

lilkimbo 4 years 43 weeks

I have definitely read that many, many more priests have been let go than that. (I can't speak as much to the situation in Australia, but am speaking of the situation in the U.S). I have read that all of those with allegations against them are indefinitely suspended and that when the allegations are proven true, they are let go.

stephley 4 years 43 weeks

How do you mean the Church has punished those who committed these crimes? I've seen that more than 4-thousand priests had allegedly abused minors since 1950 in the U.S. and fewer than 100 had been defrocked. Is there a bigger story that I missed?

lilkimbo 4 years 43 weeks

The Church has punished those who committed these crimes though. I guess you just don't think it's enough. (Not trying to say what you think, that's just what I'm getting, based on your comments.)

stephley 4 years 43 weeks

When I was a kid in several different Catholic schools, I had it drilled into me that apology without action was useless and that penance was more than a couple of Hail Marys after confession. Penance was action. I was regularly asked what I had done to make things right - and I rarely did anything worse than backtalk my mom. It shouldn't be any different for Church leadership.

lilkimbo 4 years 43 weeks

I guess our definition of penance is different. And others are saying they have seen that intention. I really don't think it's possible to fully know another person's intentions.

stephley 4 years 43 weeks

The Australians are calling for the Pope to "stop alleged efforts to cover up the extent of the problem and block attempts to win compensation", others here are calling for bishops who shuttled the accused priests around to be punished. Most compensation that has been rewarded has come through court action - the Church could take concrete action to show that things are changing. Saying 'I'm sorry' isn't public penance - penance requires the intention of amendment and people are saying they haven't seen that intention yet.

lilkimbo 4 years 43 weeks

What sort of action would you like, though? This was public penance.

stephley 4 years 43 weeks

I'm not assuming that it isn't genuine, he probably is really sorry that the abuses caused such pain. I am saying though that any apology - from anyone to anyone - must be supported by real action to correct the situation and restore trust.

stephley 4 years 43 weeks

lilkimbo 4 years 43 weeks

This was public, though. Just as you say we can't automatically assume it's genuine, it's incorrect to automatically assume it's not.