By Nick Pisa
Telegraph
April 18, 2010
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1267034/Pope-tears-expressing-shame-victims-priest-paedophile-Malta-visit.html
Pope Benedict XVI was today reduced to tears as he expressed his 'shame' to victims of paedophile priests while on a visit to Malta.
The 20-minute meeting with eight men who had been abusedin a Maltese orphanage was the first time the Pontiff has given an audience to abuse victims since the Catholic Church was hit by a series of allegations that it overlooked or covred up paedophilia.
In his most strident comments yet, the Pontiff vowed to 'bring to justice' the priests responsible for the abuse and said he would introduce measures to 'safeguard young people in the future'.
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| Pope Benedict leads a mass at the Granaries in Floriana, outside Valletta, Malta, today. He expressed his \'shame\' during a meeting with victims of paedophile priests |
The victims, eight men who suffered abuse at an orphanage on the island, said the Pope had been 'tears in his eyes' as he told them of his deep sorrow and regret.
They had been driven to the private home of the Papal Nuncio's residence in Malta at lunchtime after an open air mass attended by 40,000 people on the deeply religious island.
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| The Pope waves to the faithful as he arrives to lead the mass |
In a statement the Vatican said the Pope had 'expressed his shame and sorrow' to the men.
The statement said he had 'assured them the Church is doing, and will continue to do, all in its power to investigate allegations, to bring to justice those responsible for abuse and to implement effective measures designed to safeguard young people in the future.'
Pope Benedict has been drawn into the crisis, after it emerged that while he was Archbishop of Munich in the early 1980s he was aware that a paedophile priest was still practising in a local church but did nothing.
The Maltese victims, who begun court proceedings against three priests in 2003 and which is moving painfully slowly, say they were sexually abused and made to dress up in women's clothing.
By agreeing to meet them Vatican officials - who have insisted the abuse scandal has been created by a media conspiracy - it is hoped that the Pope's penitent tone will draw a line under the affair.
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| The Pope waves during a meeting with youths in Valletta\'s port, Malta |
After the meeting victim Lawrence Grech, a 37-year-old father of two, said: 'It was a very emotional meeting. Everyone had tears in their eyes, even the Pope and the two bishops who were there.
'I feel as if a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. We thanked the Pope for listening to us and we all cried. We prayed together. It was a good meeting.
'He talked to us individually and I am very satisfied. The priests who abused us our criminals but the Pope is not.'
Another victim Joseph Magro, 38, said: 'It was a very emotional meeting. The victims were crying, the bishops were crying and the Pope had tears in his eyes. He said he would pray for me. It is still very difficult for me, but I'm now at peace with the church.'
The two men are among eight who are bringing a court case against four priests in Malta who they claim abused them during their time at the St Joseph orphanage in Santa Venera on the island which is a former British colony.
Papal spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said: 'The Pope spent 20 minutes with these young men and he prayed with them and he spoke with them individually. It was a very simple meeting and it began with everyone kneeling in silent prayer.
'The Pope spoke with all them individually and he listened to what they had to say. He gave his thoughts and the atmosphere was very intense but serene. There were plenty of smiles and even a few jokes and the men seemed to be satisfied.'
Vatican commentator John Allen: 'This is the meeting the Pope had to have. Malta is having a sex abuse crisis and the Pope is the head of the Church so it was incumbent on him to meet the victims.'
Pope Benedict met the men after a huge open air mass on the final day of his weekend visit to Malta which although deeply Catholic was still seen as a test of his popularity although the crowds and flags greeting him seemed to suggest enthusiasm for him had not waned.
Later as he spoke with young people at a rally on Valletta waterfront Pope Benedict alluded to the Vatican claims of a media conspiracy over the sex abuse scandal.
He said: 'Today's culture. like every culture, promotes ideas and values that are sometimes at variance with those lived and preached by our Lord Jesus Christ.
'Often they are presented with great persuasive power, reinforced by the media and by social pressure from groups hostile to the Christian faith.'
Pope Benedict was in Malta to celebrate the 1950th anniversary of the shipwreck of St Paul who was stranded on the island during a voyage from the Holy Land to Rome and who spent several months there.
Pope Benedict is under pressure for several cases that he was said to have been personally involved in and these include a 1985 incident in America involving Father Steven Kiesle.
At the time, Pope Benedict, who was then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, asked to have more time to consider the case 'for the good of the Church'.
Kiesle, who was convicted of tying up and molesting two boys in San Francisco in 1978, returned to Church work and was only defrocked in 1987 - and in 2004 he was convicted of a second offence and got six years in jail.
Other cases concerning Pope Benedict are one from the mid 1990s when it is claimed he did not respond to Milwaukee bishops' pleas to defrock Father Lawrence Murphy, who abused some 200 deaf boys between 1950 and 1974.
However the Vatican has insisted that at the time when he was in charge at the Congregation, Pope Benedict, then Cardinal Ratzinger, was only informed of the case a few months before Murphy died.
Pope Benedict is due to fly back to Rome later today and tomorrow he will celebrate his fifth anniversary as election as Pope with a lunch hosted by cardinals which will also discuss the abuse scandal.
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