Benedict Xvi: " the Plague of Pedophilia Strikes at Every Level of Society", Vatican Insider, November 26, 2011

Benedict Xvi: " the Plague of Pedophilia Strikes at Every Level of Society"

Vatican Insider
November 26, 2011

http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/homepage/the-vatican/detail/articolo/papa-el-papa-pope-vescovi-bishops-obispos-10264/

Benedict XVI

For the Pope, "Since the Church has the duty, and rightly so, to require certain standards of behavior in this regard, all other institutions, with no exceptions, should observe the same rules."

Addressing American bishops brought together for the Ad Limina visit in the Consistory Hall, Pope Benedict XVI mentioned that "our meeting is the first since my pastoral visit in 2008 to your nation, the intent of which was to boost the morale of American Catholics following the scandal and confusion caused by the sexual abuse crisis of recent decades."

"I personally wanted to acknowledge the suffering inflicted on the victims," the Pontiff went on to say. "There have been honest efforts to guarantee, in that way, our children's safety by dealing with accusations in an appropriate and transparent manner, as soon as they arise."

"It is my hope that the Church's conscientious efforts to confront this reality," Pope Ratzinger then added, "will help the larger commuity to recognize the causes, the true extent, and the devastating consequences of sexual abuse, and will help it to respond effectively to the "plague of pedophilia that strikes at every level of society." For that same goal, "the Church has the duty, and rightly so, to require certain standards of behavior in this respect, and all other instituions, with no exceptions, should observe the same rules," he concluded.