Pope: Abuse was sinful and criminal

clipped from breakingnews.iol.ie The Pope has apologised to the victims of clerical sex abuse in Ireland, saying he is "truly sorry". In a pastoral letter which is being read out at Masses across the country this weekend, the Pontiff has called on Bishops to admit that grave errors of judgement were made and failures of leadership occured. He asked abusers to openly acknowledge their guilt, to submit themselves to the demands of justice and said the abuse was "sinful and criminal". “You have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry.” n the much-anticipated letter, Pope Benedict acknowledged that many victims who were brave enough to speak out found no one would listen. “In order to recover from this grievous wound, the Church in Ireland must first acknowledge before the Lord and before others the serious sins committed against defenceless children,” he added. “No one imagines that the present painful situation will be resolved quickly,” he added.

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• The Pope's Pastoral Letter to the Peaople of Ireland: (deaconforlife.blogspot.com)
• Pope 'sorry' for Irish church sex abuse (news.bbc.co.uk)
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• Apologetic pope orders Vatican probe into Irish church (ctv.ca)
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Child abuse claims sweep Catholic Church in Europe

clipped from news.yahoo.com DUBLIN – It often starts as a voice in the wilderness, but can swell into an entire nation's demand for truth. From Ireland to Germany, Europe's many victims of child abuse in the Roman Catholic church are finally breaking social taboos and confronting the clergy to face its demons. Ireland was the first in Europe to confront the church's worldwide custom of shielding pedophile priests from the law and public scandal. Now that legacy of suppressed childhood horror is being confronted in other parts of the Continent — nowhere more poignantly than in Germany, the homeland of Pope Benedict XVI. The recent spread of claims into the Netherlands, Austria and Italy has analysts and churchmen wondering how deep the scandal runs, which nation will be touched next, and whether a tide of lawsuits will force European dioceses to declare bankruptcy like their American cousins.

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