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Source: Reuters -
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Pope Benedict told Irish bishops at crisis talks over a
paedophilia scandal that sexual abuse of children by priests is a
heinous crime that they must address with resolve, the Vatican
said.
In a statement issued at the end of two days of meetings, the
Vatican also said the Irish bishops had promised the pope they are
committed to cooperating with civil authorities in investigations
of the scandal.
"The Holy Father observed that the sexual abuse of children and
young people is not only a heinous crime, but also a grave sin
which offends God and wounds the dignity of the human person
created in his image," a statement said.
Benedict, the 24 Irish bishops and top Vatican officials met in
response to outrage in Ireland over the Murphy Commission Report, a
damning indictment of child sex abuse by priests.
The report, published in November, said the Church in Ireland had
obsessively concealed child abuse in the Dublin archdiocese from
1975 to 2004, and operated a policy of don't ask, don't tell.
The meetings, the first of their kind at the Vatican in eight
years, discussed a plan of action and could lead to more prelates
resigning in a shake-up of the Irish church hierarchy.
Four have already quit.
"While realising that the current painful situation will not be
resolved quickly, (the pope) challenged the Bishops to address the
problems of the past with determination and resolve, and to face
the present crisis with honesty and courage," the statement
said.
The bishops also emphasised their commitment to cooperation with
the statutory authorities in Ireland - North and South as well as
with other organisations looking into the abuse of children, it
said.
The Murphy report said all Dublin bishops in charge during the
period under study had been aware of some complaints, but the
archdiocese had been more preoccupied with protecting the
reputation of the church than safeguarding children.
Four bishops have offered their resignations and the pope has so
far accepted one.
Victims' group One in Four called on other bishops throughout
Ireland who had engaged in a culture of cover-up to step
down.
Papal letter during Lent
The pope will send a letter to the Irish people, the first ever
papal document devoted exclusively to paedophilia, sometime during
Lent, which begins on Wednesday and ends on Easter, April 4, a
spokesman said.
The meetings examined the failure of Irish Church authorities for
many years to act effectively in dealing with cases involving the
sexual abuse of young people, the statement said.
It added that all who took part in the meetings, from the pope on
down, recognised that this grave crisis has led to a breakdown in
trust in the Church's leadership and has damaged her witness to the
Gospel and its moral teaching.
The statement acknowledged that there is no doubt that errors of
judgement and omissions stand at the heart of the crisis and that
crisis had severely divided the Church in predominantly Catholic
Ireland.
During the meetings, the bishops handed the pope a letter from
another victims' group, the Irish Survivors of Child Abuse, which
asked him to investigate how Christ's teaching had been so
flagrantly abrogated over many decades.
It urged him to help bring perpetrators of abuse or its cover-up to
civil justice and to set up a commission to examine all aspects of
the historical misconduct of Irish religious orders and priests who
betrayed their sacred vows.
Victims' groups said they would seek monetary compensation, which
could lead to a financial crisis for the Irish Church.
The Murphy report said the Church's prominent role in Irish life
was one of the reasons abuses were allowed to go unchecked, the
report said.
One priest admitted abusing more than 100 children. Another said he
had abused children every two weeks for over 25 years.
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