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Pope Benedict XVI waves to the faithful - Source: Reuters -
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Pope Benedict, facing a spreading scandal of child sexual abuse
by priests in the Roman Catholic Church, said he hopes his imminent
letter on the problem will help repentance, healing and
renewal.
Speaking in English to pilgrims and tourists in St Peter's Square
for his general audience, Benedict announced that he will sign his
long-awaited pastoral letter dealing with a massive paedophilia
scandal in Ireland.
"As you know, in recent months the Church in Ireland has been
severely shaken as a result of the child abuse crisis. As a sign of
my deep concern I have written a pastoral letter dealing with this
painful situation," he said, speaking on St Patrick's Day.
"I ask all of you to read it for yourselves, with an open heart and
in a spirit of faith. My hope is that it will help in the process
of repentance, healing and renewal," he said.
It is expected to be released on Friday or Saturday, Vatican
sources said.
Although it will be addressed to the Irish people, the letter is
expected to touch on paedophilia in a number of European
countries.
The letter, the first papal document devoted exclusively to
paedophilia, follows a damning government report on widespread
child abuse by priests in Dublin archdiocese.
The Murphy 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.
Spreading scandal
In recent weeks, the Vatican has been trying to contain damage as a
string of scandals of sexual abuse of children by priests have hit
Ireland, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.
The latest scandal is especially delicate for German-born Benedict,
Munich's bishop from 1977 to 1981.
With public opinion in Germany boiling as more cases of abuse
emerge, the vice president of the lower house of parliament,
Wolfgang Thierse, called for him to apologise on behalf of those
responsible.
Last week the head of Germany's Catholic Church apologised to
victims of child abuse by priests when he came to Rome for a
routine visit that was transformed into a crisis management
meeting.
Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, head of the German Bishops'
Conference, briefed Benedict about the situation in Germany, where
more than 100 reports have emerged of abuse at Catholic
institutions, including one linked to the prestigious Regensburg
choir run by the pope's brother from 1964 to 1994.
The pope's former diocese in Bavaria said he was involved in a
decision in 1980 to move a priest there who was suspected of child
abuse.
The pontiff - then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - jointly agreed to
the priest undergoing therapy.
However, the diocese's then vicar general, Gerhard Gruber,
assigned him to a Munich parish without restrictions. Gruber took
full responsibility for the decision. .
Child abuse scandals in the United States about eight years ago
wreaked havoc on the reputation and finances of the US Catholic
Church, which paid some $2.7 billion in settlements.
