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	Pope Recalls Wounds of Child Sex Abuse Scandal Monsters and Critics December 20, 2010 http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1606866.php/Pope-recalls-wounds-of-child-sex-abuse-scandal Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI on Monday, in his traditional Christmas address to top Vatican officials, said recent child sex abuse scandals involving priests have left the Catholic Church with a 'soiled face and torn garments.' The pontiff usually devotes his annual speech to the Roman Curia - the Vatican's administrative body - to reflections on the past year's main events, including his trips abroad. But on Monday, he only touched briefly on his visits to Cyprus, Malta, Portugal, Spain and Britain, choosing instead to concentrate mostly on the abuse crisis. He stressed the church needs to make amends for the crimes against the victims, and also denounced 'the child pornography market, which in some ways is being increasingly seen as something normal.' The 83-year-old pontiff also said bishops in developing countries have informed him of how 'sexual tourism is threatening entire generations,' in their parts of the world. Benedict began his address by noting how 2010 - a year the Vatican had marked as one dedicated to the institution of the priesthood - had regrettably turned out 'so differently to what we had expected.' Benedict spoke of the 'shock of when, during this very year, we learnt, on a scale the we would not have ever imagined, of the abuses against minors committed by priests.' Such predators in the clergy have 'under the mantle of the sacred, deeply wounded persons in their infancy, inflicting on them lifelong wounds,' Benedict told the Curia members assembled before him. The pontiff was referring to the series of revelations of abuse in several countries including Ireland, the US, Belgium, the Netherlands and his own native Germany. He cited the writings of the 12th century German mystic, St Hildegard of Bingen, to whom a beautiful woman - but with a soiled face and torn dress - had appeared in a vision. The woman, who symbolised the medieval Church, said the wounds suffered by her 'spouse' Christ on the cross 'remain open because of what the priests did.' 'They have torn my dress because they transgress the Law, the Gospel and their priestly duties,' Benedict said quoting St Hildegard's account of what the woman in the apparition told her. Such words also aptly describe the damage inflicted by the current scandal on the Church, Benedict said. 'We need to accept this humiliation as an exhortation to find the truth and a call for renewal,' the pontiff told the Curia members. 'Only truth saves. We have to interrogate ourselves on what we must do to as much as is possible, make amends for this injustice,' the pontiff added. During the past year, several groups representing abuse victims have repeatedly accused the Vatican and the pontiff for not doing enough to stamp out abuse within the ranks of the clergy. Benedict did not directly refer to the criticism, but mentioned his meetings - including during his visit to Malta - with victims of the abuse. On such occasions, Benedict said he had witnessed how 'many good priests' continue to provide support to victims and bear 'witness to the beauty of priesthood that has not been lost.'
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