ABC News
Juky 21, 2008
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/07/21/2309718.htm?section=justin
The Catholic Church's most senior figure in Australia, Cardinal George Pell, has defended the selection process for four victims of sexual abuse who met the Pope this morning.
Pope Benedict celebrated mass with two men and two women selected by the church's Professional Standards Office about 7:00am (AEST) at St Mary's Cathedral before leaving the country.
He then spoke to the two men and two women for half an hour. The pontiff listened to their stories and promised to pray for them, their families and all victims.
The Pope's office says the unscheduled meeting demonstrated the pontiff's deep concern for all those who have suffered sexual abuse.
 |
| 'Genuine sorrow': Cardinal George Pell (C) during World Youth Day celebrations Photo by Greg Wood) |
But many are now upset they were not informed about or included in the meeting.
Victims' groups say the meeting was stage-managed by the church, with outspoken victims ignored because of grievances with the church's handling of their cases.
Cardinal Pell says this morning's mass was designed to be a small, private gathering.
"There are many, many hundreds of people who've contacted me wanting to meet the Pope and I wasn't able to accommodate all of them," he said.
"Obviously, it was a small gathering which we hope will send out a message about the genuine sorrow of the Pope and, of course, the Australian bishops."
Cardinal Pell says the victims who attended the meeting represented all victims of abuse by Catholic clergy.
The state director of the church's Professional Standards Office, Michael Salmon, says the four participants were selected because he had gained an understanding of their case histories through his work.
"I was looking for people who had come some distance in terms of that journey of healing, that would not be uncomfortable at being at the mass because the mass, of course, the very tradition, [is] the very heart of the Catholic tradition," he said.
"So they needed to be people who would be comfortable at being at mass, people who understood the significance that they weren't just there in their own right but had that depth to them to understand that they were representing other victims."
Mr Salmon says the meeting was a "really healing experience" for the abuse victims involved.
"The Pope was wonderful," he said. "He's a very sensitive and very humble man, and I think they picked up on that sensitivity and that spirit of being humble."
'Incredible lack of humanity'
Melbourne couple Anthony and Christine Foster, whose two daughters were repeatedly raped at primary school by a Melbourne priest, cut their holiday in Europe short to travel to Sydney to try to meet with the Pope and call on the church to offer sex abuse victims long-term support.
One of their daughters committed suicide at the age of 26 in January after suffering anorexia and drug abuse. Her younger sister turned to alcohol and now requires 24-hour care after being hit by a car.
Mr Foster says he was not aware of the meeting and he feels ignored by the church.
"In regards to the issue of sexual abuse caused by Catholic clergy, they've shown an incredible lack of humanity," he said.
"It seems absolutely incredible that the Catholic Church would ignore the views of people who've been articulate in putting forward the needs and requirements of all victims and simply meet with a few victims who may well not be able to present the views of all victims.
"It's not realistic to meet all victims, no, but I think it would have been quite realistic to at least give us the courtesy of telling us whether he was going to meet with us or not, and to certainly listen to our views so that we could help the church move forward.
"We want to see a strong united church that can speak for all its members and the public and put forward views that are respected in the community. When this sort of thing happens, they can't be respected."
Mr Foster was the person chosen to represent abuse victims by support group Broken Rites.
The group's spokeswoman, Chris MacIsaac, says the church is cowardly ignoring victims who have grievances with the church's handling of their cases.
"There wouldn't be all this hullabaloo and people putting up their hands complaining if the process worked properly," she said.
"You can always select hand-picked people who are happy with something. Nothing's ever totally wrong or totally right but if they want to fix this, they must listen to the people who have grievance with it."
The Archdiocese of Sydney says the meeting was organised late in the preparations for World Youth Day.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.