BishopAccountability.org
	Victims' Groups React Angrily to Pope's Letter By Nicola Cooke Sunday Business Post March 21, 2010 http://www.sbpost.ie/news/ireland/victims-groups-react-angrily-to-popes-letter-48070.html IRELAND -- Victims' groups yesterday reacted angrily to Pope Benedict's pastoral letter on clerical child abuse in Ireland, and said it fell far short of addressing their claims. Maeve Lewis, executive director of victims' group One in Four, said the letter had too narrow a focus on lower-ranked Irish priests and did not acknowledge the responsibility of the Vatican in the cover up of clerical sex abuse in Ireland. "While we welcome some parts of the letter - such as a willingness for the church to cooperate with the civil authorities, we find other parts of it astounding. It does not call for the resignation of Cardinal Sean Brady, which victims' groups have demanded," she said. Abuse victim Andrew Madden, author of the Altar Boy, said the pastoral letter failed to address any of the issues raised by himself and others, in an open letter to the Pope last month. "There has been no owning up of the Catholic Church's part in causingt he sexual abuse of so many children by protecting paedophile priests. The Catholic Church did not fail to act - it acted very clearly to protect itself and leave other children to pay the price," Madden said. Cardinal Sean Brady welcomed the letter, and said it was evident the Pope "is deeply dismayed by what he refers to as 'sinful and criminal acts' and the way the Church authorities in Ireland dealt with them". He said all Catholics should "take time to read the letter". Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin described the Pope's pastoral address as "a further step in the process of renewal and healing". Dr Padraic Conway, UCD director of the International Centre for Newman Studies, and a vice-president of the university, said that the letter was a historic document, that may take some time to be recognised. "The problem of child abuse is finally addressed and the Pope does apologise unequivocally but the most problematic part is where he seems to put forward secularisation and a misinterpretation of Vatican II as causes of the sex abuse problem," he said.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.