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	Cardinal Leaves Chile Amid Storm over Anti-gay Remarks Asia One April 15, 2010 http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/World/Story/A1Story20100415-210391.html SANTIAGO, CHILE - The Vatican's secretary of state left Chile Wednesday amid a widening storm over his remarks blaming homosexuality, not celibacy among the clergy, for a child sex abuse scandal gripping the church. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone triggered indignation Monday in arguing here 'that there is a link between homosexuality and pedophilia' and 'no relationship between celibacy and pedophilia.' The comments immediately threw fuel on the scandal that has reached to Pope Benedict XVI amid accusations the church hierarchy covered up abuses for decades in the United States and Europe. The Vatican issued a highly unusual statement following Bertone's assertion that homosexuality is the 'problem' that causes Catholic priests to molest children, saying church officials were not 'competent' to speak on psychological issues concerning general society. Bertone's comment that 'many' psychologists and psychiatrists had demonstrated a link between pedophilia and homosexuality, but not with celibacy, drew official ire from France. 'This is an unacceptable linkage and we condemn this,' said foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero, joining a chorus of criticism from gay rights groups and editorial writers. Students and gay rights activists protested Tuesday night in Chile against Bertone as he participated in a ceremony at a local university. 'Homosexuals are not pedophiles - priests who abuse children are,' one protester's poster read. 'The church should be kinder and more compassionate to homosexuals instead of accusing them of 'sins,'' Chilean Communist Party lawmaker Hugo Gutierrez told AFP. Bertone, who presided over a mass for military officers in Chile Wednesday before his return to the Holy See, arrived on April 6 and toured areas affected by a devastating earthquake in late February. Over the weekend, the bishop visited the shrines of Saint Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga and Saint Teresa of the Andes. He also celebrated mass in Concepcion, one of the cities most affected by the February 27 quake. Rolando Jimenez, head of Chile's Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, characterized Bertone's remarks as 'criminal' because they suggested that 'sexual orientation is linked to a heinous crime.' Christian Democratic Senator Patricio Walker said that 'pedophilia is a mental disorder of a sexual nature that affects both homosexuals and heterosexuals.' The leadership of the Catholic Church has repeatedly tried to dismiss as media exaggerations a tide of recent claims in Austria, Germany, Ireland and the United States that predator priests were given protection from prosecution by their hierarchy. Pope Benedict himself has faced allegations that he failed to take action against pedophile priests, both as head of the Vatican's top doctrinal and morals enforcer and earlier as the Munich archbishop. The Holy See this week used its mouthpiece newspaper to praise its handling of past pedophile cases as 'exemplary,' and posted guidelines on its website Monday on handling new cases.
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