AFP
November 12, 2010
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5id_isAGNg-bTs5OWumgyzq2Zh1Xg?docId=CNG.3f938ef96f6b5a8c4bf9e1526f474c0c.ab1
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| Pope Benedict XVI has apologised for the abuses |
Pope Benedict XVI is sending special envoys to Ireland who will meet with victims of abuse by priests and examine Church procedures for preventing such crimes, the Vatican said on Friday.
"The aim is to help the Church to purify itself," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told reporters at a press conference.
The visit will help the Church work out whether instructions given to Irish bishops for dealing with abuse "could be improved," he said.
The visit "has the goal of verifying the effectiveness of the present processes used in responding to cases of abuse and of the current forms of assistance provided to the victims," the Vatican said in a statement.
"It will not be an investigation into individual cases of abuse nor a trial to judge past events," the statement added.
Instead, the envoys will be tasked with identifying "explicit problems which may require some assistance from the Holy See."
The Vatican underlined that the envoys would not interfere with ongoing investigations and were "not expected to receive allegations of new or old cases of abuse," which should be handled by local church authorities.
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| The Roman Catholic church has been hit by a wave of abuse scandals |
A report issued in Ireland l0ast year detailed hundreds of cases of sexual abuse of children by priests and exposed a cover-up by senior clergy. There have been similar scandals across Europe and in the United States.
The abuses have plunged the Roman Catholic Church into its worst crisis in years.
The Vatican has strengthened rules against abuse but campaigners and victims say it has not gone far enough in punishing senior clergy responsible.
There will be four main Vatican envoys to Ireland: Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, archbishop of Boston, and the archbishops of Ottawa and Toronto.
The Vatican said the envoys would "make themselves available to meet with those who have been deeply wounded by abuse and who wish to be met and heard."
Lombardi said that in order to guarantee "total discretion" and "ensure victims are left in peace," there would be no communication with the press during the visit.
The envoys will visit parishes, seminaries and monasteries and are expected to report back to the Vatican before Easter 2011.
"Then the Holy See will announce, with a proper statement, the next steps that have to be taken," the statement said.
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