From a knowledgable friend in this field, Clare Pascoe (25/04/2008):

Pardon me for being cynical but first there was this:

[[BQ]New York (ENI). Pope Benedict XVI has begun his first papal visit to the United States by speaking out against the sexual abuse scandals that have rocked the US church in recent years. He told journalists on the flight from Rome he was "deeply ashamed" of the scandals, and he vowed that paedophiles would not be allowed to continue as priests or to be ordained into the Roman Catholic priesthood. [436 words, ENI-08-0309][EQ]

1. At this point he was not scheduled to meet with any abuse victims, but adverse media publicity changed that later.

2. I'll be very interested to watch and see if all the 4% of US RCC priests identified by the church itself as abusers get sacked. I'd lay bets on it not happening.

And then there was this:

[BQ] New York (ENI). Pope Benedict XVI has met privately and prayed with several survivors of sexual abuse by clergy during his visit to the United States, in a move that is believed to be the first time a pontiff has met with abuse survivors. The unannounced meeting on 17 April, reportedly at Benedict's request, was held at a chapel at the papal nuncio's residence in Washington. [591 words, ENI-08-0316] [EQ]

1. If he met with (and prayed with) abuse survivors in a chapel, then he didn't meet with the most damaged ones. Because the most damaged ones a) have lost their faith and wouldn't pray, b) wouldn't go into a chapel, and c) probably wouldn't want prayer in a chapel to be the focus of the meeting.

2. Notice that in spite of clergy abuse having been on the RCC radar since at least 1985, when an internal report told them that it was a public relations problem just waiting to explode, in 23 years this is the first time a pope has bothered to put abuse victims into his schedule. And he only did it at the last minute due to media pressure.

And finally there was this:

[BQ] New York (ENI). Pope Benedict XVI, head of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, capped a six-day visit to the United States, his first as pontiff, with a public Mass at New York's Yankee Stadium in which he declared the need for US Catholics to be obedient to church authority. While the 15-20 April visit is likely to be remembered for the Pope's public declarations of shame about the sexual abuse scandals that rocked the Catholic Church in the United States, the trip also provided an opportunity for Benedict to meet a range of US Christian leaders. [419 words, ENI-08-0322][EQ]

"Okay, you abuse victims (and everyone else) - we may have abused you in the past, and manipulated and lied to you, and fobbed you off and refused to deal appropriately with your pain and suffering - not to mention refusing to deal with the problem priests in our ranks - but you've still gotta do what you're told by the church."

I'd like to know how any clergy abuse victim is supposed to have faith that the situation is going to get any better, given that the church sitll asserts control and moral authority - the two things that enable abuse to happen and be covered up over and over.

Clare Pascoe

http://www.clergyabuseaustralia.org

Clergy Sexual Abuse in Australia

When the only colour is black, the only sound a broken bell; THEN talk to me about why. --Spike Milligan