BishopAccountability.org
	The Pope's Message Toronto Star March 30, 2010 http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/article/787231--the-pope-s-message As Roman Catholics reel from the latest child abuse scandals, Pope Benedict's every word is being scrutinized for a sign that he gets it. That the Vatican truly grasps how appalled Catholics are by the victims' anguish and the cover-ups. And that Rome will do better. By that standard, Benedict's Palm Sunday homily was a missed opportunity. Rather than face the latest crisis head on, and the pain and the need for reform, he came across as defensive. He said faith provides "the courage that does not let itself be intimidated by the gossip of dominant opinions." He also extolled "the loyalty that stands with the other even when the situation makes it difficult." Surely the abuse scandal is more than "gossip," to be stifled by the church reflexively closing ranks. That is how this crisis grew. Now even Benedict, who has championed a zero-tolerance policy toward abuse, is under fire. As a cardinal in Rome, he reportedly failed to defrock a U.S. priest who molested deaf boys. And as archbishop of Munich, he reportedly failed to prevent a pedophile priest from being shuffled elsewhere. The Vatican says subordinates handled both files. At best, that implies institutionalized poor judgment. As Sandro Contenta reported in the Sunday Star, there are also troubling questions as to what the Vatican knew about Bernard Prince, a Canadian priest who was posted to Rome in 1991 after allegations in Pembroke that he had abused kids. He retired in 2004, was charged on his return here, and was convicted and defrocked. The church, like other institutions, has only recently come to terms with abuse. But Pope John Paul II in 2002 broke ground by calling it a "crime," not just a sin. And Benedict has voiced "shame and remorse," saying that cases were "very badly handled" by bishops in the U.S. and elsewhere who shielded predators. All the more reason for Benedict to answer his critics directly. Some have also proposed that the Vatican hold a council to identify how it can make good on its vow to "root out the blight of abuse" and deal with the relatively few clerics who commit such crimes. And bishops can remind all Catholics, forcefully, that they have a moral duty as well as a legal one to expose abuse. Loyalty to the church does not require wilful blindness, silence and acquiescence.
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