Abuse Tracker posts on Pope’s reaction to Irish clergy sex abuse
As most of you know, this Voice from the Desert blog carries just a small fraction of the latest news on abuse of children by Roman Catholic clergy, on its cover up by the Institutional Church, and the life-long effects of the abuse on those abused. For complete coverage of such news, the Abuse Tracker, a blog by Kathy Shaw, sponsored by BishopAccountability.org, is the definitive source. Here is a sample of postings from the Abuse Tracker on the Pope’s reaction to the Murphy Report on clergy abuse in Ireland.
Thank you, Kathy, for all you do.
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Pope meets with Irish bishops, plans measures to respond to abuse,,
VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Agency
Vatican City, Dec 11, 2009 / 10:55 am (CNA).- Pope Benedict XVI and high-ranking members or the Roman Curia met with two members of the Irish bishops’ conference in the papal library on Friday to listen to their concerns and discuss the issue of sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Dublin. The Pope was admittedly “deeply disturbed and distressed” by the contents of the Murphy Report released on Nov. 29 and expressed his commitment to investigating the matter further.
Cardinal Sean Brady of Armagh, Northern Ireland, and Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin met for 90 minutes with Vatican representatives, including Secretaries of State Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, Archbishop Fernando Filoni, and Archbishop Dominique Mamberti. Also present were Cardinal Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, Cardinal Re, Cardinal Ballestrero, Cardinals Wells and the Irish Nuncio.
In a press communiqué delivered to the press by Fr. Federico Lombardi, the Holy Father responded that he “wishes once more to express his profound regret at the actions of some members of the clergy who have betrayed their solemn promises to God, as well as the trust placed in them by the victims and their families, and by society at large.”
Child abuse crisis to spark Irish Church shakeup
VATICAN CITY
Montreal Gazette
By Philip Pullella, Reuters
December 11, 2009 1:59 PM
VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict expressed “outrage, betrayal and shame” on Friday at the sexual abuse of children by priests in Ireland, which Church leaders said would lead to a shake-up of the Irish Roman Catholic Church.
Church sources expected some bishops to resign in the wake of a government report that said Church leaders in overwhelmingly Catholic Ireland had covered up widespread abuse of children by priests for 30 years.
“I think that we are looking at a very significant reorganisation of the Church in Ireland,” Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said after he and other Irish Church leaders held an emergency meeting with the Pope.
Pope ‘deeply disturbed’ by Irish sex-abuse scandal
VATICAN CITY
NECN
[with video]
(NECN/APTN: Vatican City) – Pope Benedict XVI said on Friday that he was “deeply disturbed and distressed” by a child sex-abuse scandal in Ireland and would write a letter to the nation’s Catholics on the church’s response.
Benedict met senior Irish clergy after a report from government investigators found that the Roman Catholic church had shielded more than 100 child-abusing priests from the law.
“The Holy Father was deeply disturbed and distressed by its (recent child abuse report) contents,” Papal spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said. “He wishes once more to express his profound regret at the actions of some members of the clergy, who have betrayed the solemn promises to God, as well as the trust placed in them by the victims and their families and by society at large.”
The pope is outraged over sexual abuse cases in Ireland, promises solutions
VATICAN CITY
YouTube
Rome Reports
[video presentation]
Upon receiving the head of the Irish bishops, the Pope has expressed his outrage and shame over the sexual abuse cases committed by priests in Ireland between 1975 and 2004.
Pope ’shares outrage and shame’ at Murphy report
VATICAN CITY
The Irish Times
PADDY AGNEW in Rome and ELAINE EDWARDS
Pope Benedict shares the “outrage, betrayal and shame” felt by the Irish people over the Murphy report into the handling of allegations of child sex abuse in the Dublin archdiocese, the Vatican has said.
In a statement issued after the Pope held a meeting with Cardinal Seán Brady and Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin, the Vatican also said the Pope was “disturbed and distressed” by the contents of the report published last month.
He will write a pastoral letter to the Irish people about sexual abuse in Ireland and the Vatican’s response to the crisis.
Murder probe after abuse reports
IRELAND
Wicklow People
Friday December 11 2009
The murder of an innocent schoolgirl in Ireland almost four decades ago was being investigated in the wake of two harrowing reports into the cover-up of clerical abuse.
Bernadette Connolly was 10 years old when she was abducted in Sligo and her mutilated body found in a bog four months later in August 1970.
As the Pope finally spoke of his regret over a sickening child sex abuse inquiry in Dublin, it emerged the case of a young girl’s horrific death will be re-examined.
The prime suspect in the case was a local priest called Fr Columba, who was said to be protected by a wall of silence by his superiors at the time. He died in 2001.
Catholic abuse scandals
IRELAND
Canada.com
• April 2002, Bishop Brendan Comiskey of Ferns, one of Ireland’s best-known clerics, resigned over his handling of charges against a priest of his diocese who committed suicide in 1999 while facing 66 charges of sexual abuse.
• March 2009, Bishop John Magee of Cloyne, under fire for his handling of reports of sexual abuse, quit his daily duties to deal with the inquiry.
• May 2009, The Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse issued a harrowing five-volume report that took nine years to compile. It said priests beat and raped children during decades of abuse in Catholic-run institutions.
McGimpsey And Bishops Discuss Abuse
NORTHERN IRELAND
4NI
After the recently uncovered cases of child abuse within the Catholic Church in Dublin by the Murphy Report, a dialogue between bishops and NI-based politicians continues, writes Carla Liébana.
The Stormont Health Minister, Michael McGimpsey, said – as a response to the Roman Catholic Bishops’ proposals about child protection in Northern Ireland – that it is necessary first for an “assessment of abuse” to be undertaken.
The Irish Bishops’s Conference expressed their wish for the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland to explore a new mechanism to ensure best practice in its current policies in relation to the safeguarding of children.
Pope ‘Deeply Disturbed and Distressed’ by Irish Abuse
VATICAN CITY
Bloomberg
By Louisa Fahy
Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) — Pope Benedict XVI was “deeply disturbed and distressed” by a report that said Roman Catholic Church authorities covered up abuse of children by priests in Ireland and he plans to write a letter to the Irish people.
The pope shares the “outrage, betrayal and shame” felt by people after the publication of the report and takes the issues raised very seriously, the Vatican said in a statement today.
The report, the second this year to document abuse of children by clerics in Ireland, said senior clergy moved priests to a different location when told of allegations. It examined how the church handled claims of sex abuse against a sample of 46 priests in the Dublin diocese between 1975 and 2004.
Pope shares ‘outrage’ at sex abuse by Irish priests
VATICAN CITY
AFP
VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI “shares the outrage” of Irish Catholics over revelations of decades of child sex abuse by priests and a cover-up by top churchmen, the Vatican said in a statement.
“The Holy Father shares the outrage, betrayal and shame felt by so many of the faithful in Ireland, and he is united with them in prayer at this difficult time in the life of the Church,” the statement said.
The statement came after the pope met with Ireland’s top two Catholic churchmen, primate of all-Ireland Cardinal Sean Brady and Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin.
Pope tells Irish bishops he was ‘disturbed and distressed’ by Murphy report
VATICAN CITY
The Times (United Kingdom)
Richard Owen in Rome
Pope Benedict XVI has told Irish bishops that he was “disturbed and distressed” by the Murphy report on sexual abuse by clergy in Ireland and shares the “outrage, betrayal and shame” felt by the Irish people over the report’s findings.
In a statement issued after the Pope’s hour-and-a-half meeting with a delegation headed by Cardinal Seán Brady, the Primate of All Ireland, and Monsignor Diarmuid Martin, the Archbishop of Dublin, the Vatican said that the Pope would issue a pastoral letter to the Irish people on the sexual abuse cases. The pontiff was asking for prayers for the victims of “these heinous crimes” and the Vatican would “develop effective and secure strategies to prevent any recurrence”.
The Murphy report last month on the Catholic Church’s handling of hidden clerical child abuse in the Dublin Archdiocese over a period of 30 years gave a detailed account of abuse perpetrated by priests against more than 300 victims which it said had been systematically covered up by the Church authorities.
Pope to write to Irish Catholics about ’shameful’ clerical sex abuse
VATICAN CITY
Guardian (United Kingdom)
Riazat Butt, religious affairs correspondent, and Fiona Winward in Rome guardian.co.uk, Friday 11 December 2009
Pope Benedict XVI is “deeply disturbed and distressed” by a report detailing clerical sexual abuse in the archdiocese of Dublin and is writing to Irish Catholics to help them ensure the future safety of children in the church, the Vatican said today.
The pontiff wished “once more to express his profound regret at the actions of some members of the clergy who have betrayed their solemn promises to God, as well as the trust placed in them by the victims and their families, and society at large”. His statement followed a meeting yesterday with Irish bishops and senior-ranking members of the Roman Curia to discuss the crisis.
Benedict shared the “outrage, betrayal and shame felt by so many of the faithful in Ireland”, according to the Vatican.
SNAP responds to Pope’s planned letter to Irish Catholics re Irish clergy abuse
UNITED STATES
Voice from the Desert
The Pope professes to be “outraged” by horrific, extensive clergy sex crimes and cover ups in Ireland. That’s what his predecessor claimed about horrific, extensive clergy sex crimes and cover ups in the US.
But claims of ‘outrage’ protect no one. Nor will a letter from Rome to Ireland.
Instead of writing a letter, we hope the Pope takes action. Action, not words, protects innocent kids and heals wounded victims.
Specifically, we oppose a papal letter, a papal apology, a papal visit and/or a papal meeting with victims. Such moves are purely symbolic and only lead to premature complacency and assumptions of reform.
4 Responses to “Abuse Tracker posts on Pope’s reaction to Irish clergy sex abuse”
December 12, 2009 at 5:01 am
We have always looked to the Irish as a guiding force within the Catholic religion and now, that admiration is blemished by the abuse of minors that we have been told of. Soon, there might not be any comfort zones within Catholicism…to fracture trust destroys faith.
December 14, 2009 at 3:00 am
to abuse the faithful is to destroy the church
December 14, 2009 at 3:11 am
How wrong could I have been. I honestly thought that the Pope, with his back to the wall, was going to take drastic , meaningful, corrective, punitive action, to start cleaning house, where heads were going to roll. I pictured bishop’s ALL OVERTHE WORLD scouring nervously around their plush living quarters, looking for their passport, while thinking of how to phrase their retirement request for the Pope’s approval. But now, hearing , the news that the Pope is just composing a letter to the bishop’s of Ireland outlining his feelings of how DISTURBED AND DISTRESSED he is about what has happened in Ireland, they can take a deep breath, relax, put away their suitcases and cancel their flight reservations to where, no one knows me there. He’s not even going to leave Vatican City so he really can’t be that upset. Yes, the bishop’s, Archbishop’s and Cardinal’s in the United States and all over the world that were involved in the abuse scandal, can also relax. Nothing has changed. What made me think that he would ever ask for those involved to turn in their pointed hats knowing that HE too would have to incude himself. If he didn’t include himslf, would the hierarchy, turn on him. Besides, asking for resignations of all involved, would leave him with a skeleton crew. The Pope knows that this will not go away, for a very, very, long, long, time but as long as he and his subjects have complete control it has to be acceptable and the only way to go. Besides, the bishop’s control all the Catholic diocesan publications and there hasn’t been any National news coverage, except, maybe for Boston, chicago, New York and Los Angelas. I know our bishop has not mentioned a word about what’s happened in Ireland. So, once again, the majority of Catholics don’t really know what is going on. I havent seen anything on the internet except what SNAP and the ,Voice From The Desert web site has been posting. Unless the Media gets involved chances are the Pay, Pray and Obey continues to be alive. Now all I can do is keep praying for a miracle
December 20, 2009 at 8:38 pm
Although the bishop of the child abuse scandal in Ireland will resign, will help the victims and their families who have been emotionally traumatized, not to forget the alienation from God caused by such “STALWART DEFENDERS” of religious faith! Where does the responsibility lie? Enforced celibacy has no biblical foundation at all! Why was it instituted in the first place? And why was such a perversion covered up for so long by an organization that claims to be the guardian of Christian ethics and morals? And why was this allowed by the authorities for so long? Were church and state in each other pockets? May we hope that the discussion with the Pope at the Vatican next week will HELP clear up ALL THE TRADITIONS AND PRACTICES, DOGMAS AND RITES, that CONTRADICT the teachings of the greatest Prophet of all times, Jesus of Nazareth? AND PERHAPS, WHILE THEY’RE AT IT, start compensating for ALL THE wrongs DONE OVER THE ages?! What would Jesus of Nazareth say if He came to the Earth and saw what the church – which claims to speak for Him – has made of His life’s work? A small group in Germany called“ The Free Christians for the Christ of the Sermon on the Mount in All Cultures Worldwide” is against such shameful sham Christianity. They announced a lawsuit against the Catholic Church. As they put it, they do not want to remain silent anymore on the “brazen labeling fraud,” with which Christ is mocked and His name abused to such an extent. They demand that the Catholic Church no longer call itself “Christian.”As a Christian. Perhaps your readers would like to check them out: http://www.christus-oder-kirche.de/christ-or-church/index.php