Pope Calls on Catholic Church to Repair Injustice of Sexual Abuse, by Tom Kington, The Guardian, December 20, 2010

Pope Calls on Catholic Church to "Repair Injustice" of Sexual Abuse

By Tom Kington
The Guardian
December 20, 2010

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/20/pope-catholic-church-child-abuse-scandal

Pope Benedict XVI blamed the child abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic church on child pornography, sexual tourism and the moral relativism of the 1970s. Photograph: Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images

Pope Benedict XVI today called on Roman Catholics to reflect on how sexual abuse exploded within the church's ranks in a Christmas speech.

The pontiff also blamed the scandal on child pornography, sexual tourism and the moral relativism of the 1970s.

In his seasonal speech to bishops and cardinals, Benedict rounded up highlights of his year, briefly mentioning his visits to Malta, Spain and Portugal before dwelling at length on his "unforgettable" visit to England and Scotland.

He started his roundup, in the Sala Regia of the Vatican's apostolic palace, by tackling the "unimaginable" wave of revelations of sexually abusive priests in Europe and the US, who "profoundly wound people in their childhood, damaging them for a whole lifetime".

"We must ask ourselves what we can do to repair as much as possible the injustice that has occurred," he said. "We must ask ourselves what was wrong in our proclamation, in our whole way of living the Christian life."

Benedict has been challenged on his record of tackling abuse while he was the Archbishop of Munich and the head of the Vatican office dealing with abuse cases.

The Pope likened today's church to the beautiful woman covered in dust and wearing a torn dress who was seen in a vision by the 12th century German saint Hildegard.

But in his festive speech – which he traditionally uses to impart key messages to senior Vatican figures – he insisted the abuse scandal should be placed in a wider social context. "We cannot remain silent about the context of these times in which these events have come to light," he said, citing child pornography, "that seems in some way to be considered more and more normal by society."

Sexual tourism in the third world was "threatening an entire generation", he added.

Returning to a theme he had discussed in the past, Benedict said the modern world's moral relativism was at fault. "In the 1970s, paedophilia was seen as a natural thing for men and children," he said, arguing that the Catholic church had the task of taking on and defeating relativism.

Roberto Mirabile, the head of an Italian anti-paedophilia campaign group, La Caramella Buona, said: "When Benedict puts priestly abuse in this context, it sounds like he is trying to justify it. I appreciate the pope's willingness to crack down, but I still don't see this great commitment within the Vatican to shed light on a problem which is ongoing."

Mirabile said he was awaiting responses from the Vatican over newly-emerging cases of abuse in Italy.

Benedict said the church's insistence on irrefutable religious truths over relativism had driven the conversion to Catholicism of the 19th century theologian John Henry Newman, who was beatified by the pontiff during his visit to England in September.

Skirting over his other foreign trips this year, the Pope singled out his speech at Westminster Hall, in London, given in front of four former prime ministers, parliamentarians and religious leaders, and claimed that the church had a role in reinforcing the moral values – currently "at risk" – that underpin modern democracy.