ABUSE SCANDAL
Germany: a letter “to all of us”The words of the Pope to Irish Catholics “are valid for the entire Church”, and are a “clear message also to us in Germany”. Msgr. Robert Zollitsch, President of the German Bishops’ Conference (DBK), commented on the Letter of Pope Benedict XVI to the Catholic Church of Ireland, in which the Holy Father condemns the sexual abuse of minors by Church members. “His unsparing analysis shows that the Pope views sexual abuse with much gravity and concern”, Zollitsch said. “We know that failings have taken place also here in Germany”, which have been “clearly acknowledged and admitted during the Spring Plenary in Freiburg”. “We cannot allow mistakes to be repeated and that’s why we need complete clarification.” “We are working on this subject in all dioceses. I consider the Pope’s admonition to the bishops in Ireland as an admonition to us at the same time. The scandal of sexual abuse is not just an Irish problem. It’s a church scandal in many places and it is a church scandal in Germany”. Austria: “a sign of repentance””This letter has also been written for us”, said Cardinal Schönborn on March 20, commenting on the Pope’s Pastoral Letter on sexual abuses to Catholics of Ireland. In an interview released to Kathpress, the President of the Austrian bishops conference said: “The Letter conveys the Pope’s delusion and also his anger”. “The clarity” with which Benedict XVI addresses the question of accountability “does us good. It’s indispensable and it constitutes a clear criterion we must absolutely refer to”. Cardinal Schönborn underlined the similarities between the Irish and the Austrian situations. “The letter is addressed to a Country where the Catholic Church has a glorious history and where serious cases of abuse have taken place, leading to a loss of faith in the Church on the part of many. The Holy Father makes this clear in his Letter, which diplomatically conceals nothing “. The Cardinal voiced the need for “a joint effort to ensure that in the future children be protected from similar crimes”. For this, Schönborn declared, “as a sign of repentance, next March 31 a Mass of contriteness will be officiated at Saint Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna”.England: “robust procedures are necessary”The archbishop of Westminster and Primate of England and Wales, Msgr. Vincent Nichols, welcomed the letter to the Catholics of Ireland in which Benedict XVI conveys his profound dismay over the abuse of youth by Church representatives. The document highlights the “Pontiff’s strong guidance” in addressing this question. “From our experience in England and Wales, we have learnt that the most important thing is to recognize and take to heart the profound damage done to children who have been abused”, the archbishop wrote in a statement which underlines the importance for the Church to grant priority to “the protection of minors and of vulnerable people”. For Msgr. Nichols “Robust procedures are necessary to ensure that all allegations are dealt with swiftly and appropriately in full co-operation with the relevant authorities. These procedures need also to be just if they are to make a lasting difference and ensure the support of all”. “The work carried out in England and Wales for the establishment of a system that would efficiently protect children and all vulnerable persons was difficult and complex, but it’s a path that must be undertaken”, he concluded.Italia: CEI, “do not fear the truth””Pedophilia is always heinous, but when it is committed by a consecrated person its moral implications even more serious. For this, with deep and uncontainable suffering, all of us Bishops share in with the Pope in conveying our grief and our closeness to those who experienced the betrayal of a violated childhood”. Thus declared cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, President of Italian Bishops (CEI) on March 22 in the opening remarks of the permanent Episcopal Council in Rome. In his Letter “to the Catholics of Ireland”, Bagnasco said, the Pope “vigorously reiterated the need to assume a stronger stand in order to fulfill the commitment of mending past injustice. Benedict XVI paves the way for everyone, with no indulgences”, and recalls that beyond “the unworthiness, the sins and the failures of some members of the Church, it is in the Church that you will rediscover Jesus Christ”. On their part, “Italian bishops have intensified educational efforts of candidates to priesthood, along with rigorous discernment and vigilance to prevent situations and facts that are incompatible with the choice of God”. “When the Church experiences humiliation – His Eminence concluded – the Church learns from the Pope that she must not fear the truth, even when it is heinous and painful. She learns not to silence it nor cover it up, which however doesn’t mean accepting possible generalized discredit strategies”.
