Vatican Paralysed by Abuse Scandal, News 300, March 15, 2010

Vatican Paralysed by Abuse Scandal

News 300
March 15, 2010

http://news300.info/2010/03/15/2244/

The child abuse scandal in the Catholic Church is spreading. Cases from the 1990s have now come to light but the Vatican is still sluggish in its response, commentators write.

Distrust in the Church is growing, as is criticism of the Church’s celibacy rule.

According to its own figures the Vatican has recorded around 3,000 cases of child abuse in the Catholic Church in the last nine years. According to Charles Scicluna, representative of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, ten percent of these were cases of paedophilia on the part of the clergy but for the most part they were “homosexual contacts” between members of the clergy and pupils who were already over 15. The daily Le Soir is astounded by so much shamelessness:

“The Vatican’s banalisation of illicit relations with youths over 15 … is striking. Either Monsignor Scicluna believes paedophile priests who abuse children are less responsible for their behaviour due to the age of their victims, or he’s insinuating that the sins of the flesh committed by the priests were provoked by the young victims.

… Above and beyond these questions, the Catholic Church must now recognise that sexual relations, whether as child abuse or joyous contact with consenting adults, are common among its priests.

… More than the question of whether the clergy may marry, which boils down to entering a contractual relation with a partner, the Church must face the question of the forced (and hypocritical) abstinence imposed on clergymen. Clearly it is impossible to respect such a slavish regime.” (Le Soir – Belgium | 15/03/2010)

Pope must make statement

In the 1980s a priest known for his paedophilic tendencies was placed in charge of a congregation in Munich with the knowledge of Pope Benedict XVI, then Cardinal Ratzinger. Regardless of the consequences the Pope must now answer pressing questions, writes the left-liberal daily Suddeutsche Zeitung:

“Benedict XVI has condemned sexual abuse in the harshest terms, so it’s not possible to accuse him of wanting to cover up or deny paedophilia in the Church. Nevertheless he is now directly implicated in the affair, and must justify the trust that more than a billion Catholics place – or not, as the case may be – in the Pontiff.

… The Church isn’t in this crisis of confidence because it’s a club for child abusers. It is in this crisis because it indulges in self-pity rather than helping the victims, for example with a compensation fund. It is in this crisis because it doesn’t want to admit that the clergy attracts men with problems of sexual identity. It is in this crisis which concerns the entire country because until now the Church has offered warmth and proximity that were in short supply in other parts of society. This rare good could now become all the more scarce, and the Pope must also answer for that.” (Suddeutsche Zeitung – Germany | 14/03/2010)

Distrust in the Church growing

A growing number of Germans are reporting that they suffered sexual abuse at the hands of priests as children. The daily Helsingin Sanomat writes that criticism and mistrust of the Church are growing apace:

“Luckily the social climate has changed. Catholicism continues to play an important role in Germany, the homeland of Pope Benedict XVI. So was it unheard of when Chancellor Angela Merkel, chair of the Christian Democrats and thus political leader of Germany’s Christians, recently criticised the Pope for his attitude towards a bishop who denied the Holocaust. And now a second ‘brazen’ politician, [Sabine] Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, is daring to attack the Church. But in fact the statements by the justice minister merely reflect what surveys indicate a majority of Germans are feeling: a deep distrust in the Catholic Church.” (Helsingin Sanomat – Finland | 15/03/2010)

Celibacy not the only cause of abuse

Cases of sexual abuse of children by Roman Catholic priests have also come to light in the Netherlands. This has prompted a discussion about celibacy in the country, but celibacy is not the only cause for the abuse, writes the Christian-oriented daily Trouw:

“Where power is not evenly distributed, it is abused – sadly. In any such relationship the person in power can be tempted to abuse his position. Sexual abuse therefore occurs in all kinds of institutions, organisations and circles. The Roman Catholic institutions are not the only ones. … There are good questions to be asked on the subject of forcing people to abstain from physical intimacy, but to cite celibacy as the cause of sexual crimes is to oversimplify. It can play a role, but abolishing celibacy won’t put an end to the abuse if the basis for it – the unequal distribution of power – remains intact.” (Trouw – Netherlands | 15/03/2010)