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	Austrian Cardinal Defends Pope over Abuse Scandal By Veronika Oleksyn Taiwan News April 1, 2010 http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=1217781&lang=eng_news Austria's top Catholic on Thursday defended the pope against suggestions he was involved in the cover-up of abuse, a day after he acknowledged church guilt in a clergy sex scandal. Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn said Pope Benedict XVI had a very clear anti-cover up policy while he headed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and that this did not always find favor in the Vatican. "I can say with certainty that, in his role as chief of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he had a very clear line of not covering up, but clearing up," Schoenborn said. In recent weeks, abuse allegations against Catholic clergy and institutions have surfaced in various European countries _ including Austria. The controversy has raised questions about the pope's role in keeping cases quiet. Schoenborn _ who has known Benedict for 37 years and is one of his confidantes _ said earlier this week that the pope, in his previous role, had immediately pushed for an investigative commission when abuse allegations arose against the late Austrian Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer. However, he said, the "diplomatic track" in the Vatican did not let this happen. Groer was forced to resign in 1995 over claims he had molested youths at a monastery in the 1970s. Schoenborn commented to reporters Thursday after meeting with Waltraud Klasnic, the newly appointed head of a church-funded commission tasked with clearing up Austrian abuse claims. The former regional governor pledged to work independently and listen to everyone. "There is no one in this country I can't look in the eye, and there is no one in the country I don't want to talk to," Klasnic said. Critics _ including victims _ contend she is the wrong person for the post because she has close ties to the church. Austrian Catholics appear to have become increasingly disillusioned by the ongoing allegations. According to the Austria Press Agency, dioceses across the country have recorded increases in the number of people turning their back on the church. In the southern city of Graz, a thousand people formally left last month alone, APA reported. "For many people, this is the last straw," said Kurt Remele, associate professor for ethics and Catholic social thought at the University of Graz. Late Wednesday, Schoenborn sought to make amends by admitting that some in the church took advantage and destroyed the trust of children, were sexually violent and considered the image of the church most important.
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