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	Pope Benedict XVI's Challenge Telegraph March 21, 2010 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/telegraph-view/7494310/Pope-Benedict-XVIs-challenge.html UNITED KINGDOM -- Telegraph View: The Pope must continue to take calm, decisive action that will prevent his visit to Britain being overshadowed by this scandal. On Saturday, Pope Benedict XVI delivered a heartfelt apology to the victims of revolting abuse by Irish priests and members of religious orders. His statement was remarkable not just for the power of its language – the pontiff spoke of his own "shame" – but also for its determination to dismantle the culture of buck-passing that has disgraced the Catholic Church in Ireland. The Vatican is planning a Visitation of Irish dioceses. Certain prelates and bureaucrats are rightly terrified of what it will uncover. Victims' groups have declared themselves unsatisfied by the Pope's apology. To an extent, this is understandable: as Benedict XVI says, no apology can heal wounds caused by child abuse. Victims and families will carry them to the grave. Even so, a few unfashionable points need to be made. First, these crimes reached their peak in the years between the Second World War and the early 1980s. Many perpetrators are long dead, and so are the clergy who abetted their crimes. Second, it is important that the legitimate concerns of victims are not drowned out by the synthetic rage of militant secularists who see a chance to advance their agenda. Third, the Roman Catholic Church is a community of a billion people, most of whom have never suffered or committed abuse. It is largely a force for good in the world. Christianity as a whole will suffer if innocent Catholics are tarred with the brush of paedophilia. Let guilty men be pursued relentlessly – but only the guilty. The Pope must continue to take calm, decisive action that will prevent his important visit to Britain being overshadowed by this terrible scandal.
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