Ireland: Father Lombardi’s statement welcomedThe Irish bishops have “welcomed” the statement of the Director of the Vatican Press Room, Father Federico Lombardi, dedicated in recent days to the “very grave question” of the sexual abuse of minors which is involving the Church and its institutions in some European countries, including Ireland. In a statement issued on 10 March by the Irish Bishops’ Conference at the end of its general assembly, the bishops say they have “welcomed its timely publication”. They “specifically” [welcome] its reference concerning survivors of abuse”, i.e. that “the correct starting point is recognition of what happened and concern for the victims and the consequences of the acts committed against them”. The Irish bishops further emphasize the passage of Fr. Lombardi’s statement asserting that “the Church exists as part of civil society and shoulders her own responsibilities in society”. From this point of view, in the view of the Irish episcopate, the statement clarifies an “important matter” that “has been consistently misrepresented in some quarters”. In his statement the Director of the Vatican Press Room had in fact pointed out that “in the ambit of canon law, the crime of the sexual abuse of children has always been considered as one of the most serious of all” and that the 2001 Letter “De delictis gravioribus”, “sometimes improperly cited as the cause of a culture of silence”, was on the contrary “a decisive signal to remind the episcopate of the seriousness of the problem”. In this regard, and to prevent “misinformation”, the Irish bishops point out that at their recent meeting in Rome it was impressed on them that “the 2001 Letter in no way precluded the Church authorities from their civil obligations in regards to reporting and cooperating fully with the civil authorities”. In their communiqué the bishops also say they are “conscious that the statement issued after the Rome meeting was but one part of a long term process of renewal of the Church of Ireland”. And this renewal – they add – “requires support of the faithful throughout the Church”. The two heads of the National Council for the Protection of Children in the Catholic Church, John Morgan and Ian Elliott, also participated in the general assembly and updated the bishops on the progress of contacts with the state authorities, North and South of the border, and on the process to be begun for the control and safeguard of children in dioceses and religious congregations.Austria: “never placed celibacy in question”Cardinal Schönborn “has never in any way placed in question celibacy in the Catholic Church of Latin rite”, declared Erich Leitenberger, spokesman of the archdiocese of Vienna, repudiating some interpretations in the media of statements recently made by the archbishop. According to the Catholic press agency Kathpress, in the last number of “thema kirche”, the in-house journal of the archdiocese, Schönborn had affirmed that as far as the sexual abuse of children is concerned, “only the way of truth is possible and it is crucial that precedence be given to the victims”. Citing the exact words of the archbishop, the Austrian press agency explains that the Cardinal had expressed the hope for an examination of the causes of abuse, including: “The question of the training of priests, as also the question of what happened with the ‘sexual revolution” of the generation of 1968. Part of all this is the issue of celibacy, as also that of the development of personality. And what is also needed is a good dose of sincerity, in the Church, and also in society”. Schönborn also asked for a “change”: “For every new case of abuse, whether in the Church or elsewhere, I ask myself: ‘And you, have you really done something for change?'”. Citing Schönborn’s words, Leitenberger concluded: “Sincerity is also desirable in the reporting of the statements made by Church leaders”.Spain: campaign in support of the right to lifeThe Spanish Bishops’ Conference has launched a media campaign in support of the right to life of unborn babies, to coincide with Pro-Life Day to be celebrated on 25 March. The campaign, which this year has as its theme “It’s my life!… It’s in your hands”, has as its main aims the need to continue to give a voice to those who can’t speak for themselves since they have still to be born, to defend their right to life and to offer real help to pregnant women who find themselves in difficulty. From 15 to 30 March 1,300 campaign posters will be on display in 37 Spanish cities. Moreover, already 6 million pro-life brochures have begun to be distributed in dioceses and some 30,000 flyers have been sent to parishes and Catholic centres throughout the country. In continuity with last year’s campaign, the posters show human life in its first stages. A new-born infant, supported in the hands of its father and mother, exclaims: “It’s my life!… It’s in your hands”. The new Spanish law on abortion, as pointed out by the bishops, apart from representing a grave setback in the legal protection of the unborn, also implies “a greater abandonment of pregnant mothers”. That’s why the campaign has also created a special website on which a great deal of information on charities and institutions for the protection of new human lives can be found: www.conferenciaepiscopal.es/apoyoalavida.
