Church Sexual Abuse Victims Criticise Pope

9 News
February 12, 2013

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/02/12/13/03/church-sexual-abuse-victims-criticise-pope

Pope Benedict XVI has done nothing to help sexual abuse victims and has instead covered up crimes to protect the church, Australian advocates for victims of church sexual abuse say.

Melbourne lawyer Judy Courtin says the Pope had been "absolutely appalling" in his handling of the worldwide issue.

"He's certainly been responsible for the Catholic Church's policy of concealing and covering up (sexual abuse crimes)," Ms Courtin told AAP.

"And I know his edicts, coming from the Vatican to the bishops worldwide, have been such that there's been threats of excommunication if they don't keep these things secret."

In 2001, before becoming Pope, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was placed in charge of investigating sexual abuse within the church.

That year he sent a letter to every Catholic bishop around the world, ordering that all sexual abuse allegations concerning the church be referred to his office, to be dealt with internally.

He said sexual abuse allegations were subject to pontifical secrecy, the breach of which carries the threat of excommunication.

With Pope Benedict announcing he will resign later in February because of deteriorating physical and mental health, Ms Courtin said there was no point trying to get the Catholic Church to change, or to rely on a new pope for leadership.

Instead, she said nations worldwide needed to do as Australia had done and set up national inquiries such as the forthcoming royal commission.

Ms Courtin, a PhD student studying sexual assault in the Catholic Church, said the church needed to become answerable worldwide to laws, rather than using internal processes to handle abuse claims.

Helen Last, director of the Australian victims support group In Good Faith, also criticised Pope Benedict, saying he had used ancient Canon laws to justify dealing with sexual abuse complaints internally, when what is needed is for them to be reported to police.

"Then we will see truly a cleansing of the presence of the clerical and religious offenders, who still hold positions of power in the church, and break open the secretive structure of the church that has not been co-operating with criminal authorities," Ms Last said.

Ms Last also called for more pastoral care to be shown to abuse survivors - a call that was echoed by Victorian Catholic Church sexual abuse survivor Peter Blenkiron.

"I just hope the person who comes in next (as pope) sends down a directive not to spend their resources on lawyers, but to spend their money on supporting survivors to make sure there are no more suicides," Mr Blenkiron said.

"They need someone who can promote healing, if they can do that there will be a church. If they keep denying and covering up, the church will eat itself."