Pope’s Apology Falls Short of A True Mea Culpa
- added April 15, 2008
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- AndreaKnoll
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Pope Benedict XVI said he was "deeply ashamed" of the sex abuse scandal that has rocked the Roman Catholic Church. He addressed reporters, answering prescreened questions, during a special Alitalia flight from Rome to Washington, where he began his U.S. tour today.
"It is a great suffering for the Church in the United States and for the church in general and for me personally that this could happen," said Benedict. "It is difficult for me to understand how it was possible that priests betray in this way their mission ... to these children."
"I am deeply ashamed and we will do what is possible so this cannot happen again in the future...We will absolutely exclude pedophiles from the sacred ministry," he continued. "It is more important to have good priests than many priests. We will do everything possible to heal this wound."
Benedict's claim that it is difficult to comprehend how the scandal happened is somewhat hollow however when you consider, as we reported yesterday, that he was directly involved in the cover up of the scandal. For many, his apology will not go far enough, especially since he failed to acknowledge any responsibility, or his own well documented role in the scandal.
"It's easy and tempting to continually focus on the pedophile priests themselves," said Peter Isely of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "It's harder but crucial to focus on the broader problem - complicity in the rest of the church hierarchy."
Benedict was up to his papal collar in both the church's complicity and attempted concealment of the abuse scandal. He personally ordered the relocation of perpetrators, and demanded silence, under threat of excommunication, from Roman Catholic clergy around the world.
"It is a great suffering for the Church in the United States and for the church in general and for me personally that this could happen," said Benedict. "It is difficult for me to understand how it was possible that priests betray in this way their mission ... to these children."
"I am deeply ashamed and we will do what is possible so this cannot happen again in the future...We will absolutely exclude pedophiles from the sacred ministry," he continued. "It is more important to have good priests than many priests. We will do everything possible to heal this wound."
Benedict's claim that it is difficult to comprehend how the scandal happened is somewhat hollow however when you consider, as we reported yesterday, that he was directly involved in the cover up of the scandal. For many, his apology will not go far enough, especially since he failed to acknowledge any responsibility, or his own well documented role in the scandal.
"It's easy and tempting to continually focus on the pedophile priests themselves," said Peter Isely of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "It's harder but crucial to focus on the broader problem - complicity in the rest of the church hierarchy."
Benedict was up to his papal collar in both the church's complicity and attempted concealment of the abuse scandal. He personally ordered the relocation of perpetrators, and demanded silence, under threat of excommunication, from Roman Catholic clergy around the world.
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- AndreaKnoll
- 5 months ago
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