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	Pope Belatedly Doing Right Thing Pocono Record April 19, 2008 http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080419/NEWS04/804190308 Pope Benedict XVI is to be commended for his long overdue pronouncements — voiced during the Roman Catholic leader's current U.S. visit — condemning the church's sex abuse scandal by priests. More than 4,000 U.S. priests have been accused of molesting minors since 1950. For decades, bishops and cardinals covered up such abuses by spiritual leaders that young people were taught to trust and revere. Worst than that, these abusive priests were typically transferred to another parish when a set of abuses was revealed, enabling them to prey upon another group of unsuspecting boys and girls. One man, who was molested by a priest at age 11, calls it "spiritual abuse" as well as sexual abuse. Only in recent years has the church begun to address the problem, spurred on no-doubt by more than $2 billion in payouts to victims resulting from threatened or actual legal action. Six dioceses were forced into bankruptcy because of abuse costs. On Thursday, the Pope prayed with tearful victims during a private audience with a small group of victims. He has spoken out on the issue at other times during his visit, calling the abuses a "deep shame" that caused "enormous pain." He pledged to keep pedophiles out of the priesthood. Benedict has special insight into the problem. Prior to becoming pope, he was the Vatican's point person for fielding abuse allegations from the U.S. This insight should help him to see what additional steps are necessary. It's not enough to isolate or expel pedophile priests. It's not enough to take special precautions to prevent additional pedophiles from joining the priesthood — as welcome as that step is. Benedict also should take disciplinary action against the bishops and cardinals who perpetuated the problem by transferring serial pedophiles to new duties rather than removing the priests and reporting them to law enforcement for possible prosecution. Those bishops and cardinals don't deserve to hold positions of trust and responsibility.
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