By Dana Kennedy
Aol News
April 21, 2010
http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/pope-promises-action-in-priest-abuse-scandal/19448438
(April 21) -- In another sign that the Vatican is backing away from its defensive posture over the clerical sex abuse scandal, Pope Benedict XVI said today the Catholic Church will take "action" to deal with the escalating global crisis.
The pope's remarks, his first direct public comments about the scandal since he wrote Irish Catholics a pastoral letter last month, came during his weekly public audience in St. Peter's Square. His statements seemed to be inspired by his reportedly emotional meeting Sunday on Malta with eight survivors of clerical sexual abuse. He spoke about what it was like to meet with the eight men, who said they were sexually abused in their youth by priests in a Malta orphanage.
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| Dana Kennedy |
"I shared with them their suffering and emotionally prayed with them, assuring them of church action," Benedict said.
On Sunday, the Vatican issued a statement saying the pope had promised the men that the church would implement "effective measures" to bring abusive priests to justice and protect children. Benedict's remarks today appeared to be a follow-up to the official Vatican statement about his private meeting.
While neither the Vatican nor the pope has' given details about their plans, many national bishops' conferences around the world have implemented new guidelines in recent years for handling abuse in the church.
The U.S. is widely believed to have the toughest policy. All credibly accused priests are barred from any public church work while charges against them are investigated. Priests found guilty are permanently barred from public ministry and sometimes defrocked.
Benedict's remarks today come after more than a week of subtle indications that the Vatican may be changing its earlier stance, which often entailed blaming the media for attacking the pope and for sensationalizing the crisis.
Last week, the Vatican issued official written guidelines that for the first time formally instruct bishops to report abusive priests to the police. The Vatican says that was always its policy, but it was never outlined specifically. The church has been accused of covering up clerical sexual abuse by encouraging clergy worldwide to keep the information in-house.
In a homily last week that was seen as a reference to the scandal, the pope said Christians must repent for their sins and recognize their mistakes.
Even the Vatican's U.S. lawyer, Jeffrey Lena, who has rarely commented publicly, granted an interview to The Associated Press last week about himself and his work for the church.
Signs that the Vatican is more willing to accept high-level resignations from clergy involved in the abuse crisis are also evident in Ireland. The AP reported today that the pope has accepted the resignation of Bishop James Moriarty, who admitted in December that he hadn't challenged the Dublin archdiocese's past practice of concealing child abuse complaints from police.
The Vatican also is expected to accept the December resignation offers of two auxiliary Dublin bishops, Eamonn Walsh and Ray Field, in coming weeks, the AP reported.
All three bishops were named in an Irish government-ordered investigative report, published last year, into decades of clerical sex abuse in the Dublin archdiocese. The report concluded that Irish bishops worked together to protect pedophile priests from criminal prosecution until 1996.
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