Pope Benedict Finally Meets with Abuse Victims
Even before Pope Benedict touched down in Washington on Tuesday, he faced a firestorm of criticism for not stopping in Boston to help area Catholics heal from the clergy sexual abuse scandal. Several victims’ groups chastised Benedict for what they saw as an attempt to avoid the messy subject during his trip.
Despite leaving Boston off his itinerary, he has discussed the crisis several times this week, and victims finally got a private audience with the Pontiff in Washington yesterday afternoon.
The victims, who were all from Boston, report it was an emotional experience.
“I asked him to forgive me for hating his church and hating him,” said Olan Horne, 48, of Lowell[.]
“We spoke. I shook his hand and I basically told him that I was an altar boy, a young boy praying to God at the time I was abused and it wasn’t just sexual abuse, it was spiritual,” [Bernie] McDaid said.
In a press release, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, who organized the meeting, relays a message from the Pope. “[H]e has come to the United States with great sorrow in his heart over this crisis and has been continuously praying for all who were affected.”
Victims groups laud the meeting as a good start. Voice of the Faithful calls the meeting a “welcome first step.” The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests says the papal audience was a “small, long-over due step forward on a very long road.”
The Herald’s Margery Eagan sums it up nicely.
[L]istening to victims, as Benedict did yesterday, is good and right and an excellent start, but it is only a start. To fix the Catholic Church in Boston, those who knew what happened and kept silent must now pay a steep price.
April 18th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
I agree that this is a step, but it is only one step. Many more need to be taken, like actually chastising the bishops and cardinals who lied for and covered up for sexually predatory priests - like Law. He needs to take some concrete action to prevent this horror from ever happening again. Kind words won’t do that. He is the one who should have apologized to these people, not them to him. With all his power, he can actually DO something about this, not just make nice gestures.
April 18th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
I have nothing but sympathy for the victims of sexual abuse but the Church has gone above and beyond to help prevent this in the future. All we ever hear is “this is a good first step” or “more needs to be done.” The Church is one of the safest environments in the country but people will never admit this because they hate the Catholic Church.
April 21st, 2008 at 10:38 am
The abuse has been going on for DECADES and nothing was done except to shuffle priests from parish to parish. The Church has not done enough.