Survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy yesterday reacted with disappointment to the pastoral letter issued by Pope Benedict XVI expressing his sorrow for their suffering, and accused him of missing an opportunity to address the core issue of concealment.In the first apology of its kind issued anywhere in the world, the pope acknowledged that "grave errors" of leadership had been committed by church authorities in Ireland after evidence of abuse by priests emerged.
His pastoral letter, addressed to the Catholics of Ireland, also announced that he planned to send a team of senior Vatican officials to investigate practices in Irish dioceses, seminaries and religious congregations, and expressed a willingness to meet with victims of sexual abuse.
He said he had instructed his "brother bishops" to fully implement "the norms of canon law in addressing cases of child abuse" and to "continue to cooperate with the civil authorities in their area of competence".
However, the letter received a lukewarm response from survivors of abuse, who said it fell "far short" of addressing their concerns.
"Pope Benedict has passed up a glorious opportunity to address the core issue in the clerical sexual abuse scandal," said Maeve Lewis, executive director of the support group One in Four.
"[There is] a deliberate policy of the Catholic church at the highest levels to protect sex offenders, thereby endangering children."
Pointing to the assertion that the roots of sex abuse lay in the secularisation of Irish society and a failure to adhere to canon law, she argued that there was little hope the church would ever respond effectively to the crisis.
Andrew Madden, who was abused as an altar boy, said: "The Catholic church did not fail to act – it acted very clearly to protect itself and leave other children to pay the price."
Abuse survivor Marie Collins told the Sunday Tribune that "the failures of the Catholic church are not due to canon law... There is no canon law that says you must go to the civil authorities with allegations of abuse. The bishops could have followed canon law to the letter and it wouldn't have made any difference."
The letter, which was read out at masses last night and today in parishes throughout Ireland, argues that among the causes of the current crisis were poor vetting and formation of candidates for the priesthood and religious life and "a tendency in society to favour the clergy and other authority figures".
There was a warm welcome for the letter from under-pressure Catholic primate Cardinal Sean Brady, and Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin.
For the church in Ireland to recover from the "grievous wound" of its current crisis, Pope Benedict said it must first acknowledge the "serious sins committed against defenceless children."
Addressing his "brother bishops", Benedict wrote that it cannot be denied "that some of you and your predecessors failed, at times grievously, to apply the long-established norms of canon law to the crime of child abuse. Serious mistakes were made in responding to allegations.
"I recognise how difficult it was to grasp the extent and complexity of the problem, to obtain reliable information and to make the right decisions in the light of conflicting expert advice. Nevertheless, it must be admitted that grave errors of judgement were made and failures of leadership occurred," he wrote.
"All this has seriously undermined your credibility and effectiveness."
For the church in Ireland to recover from the "grievous wound" of its current crisis, Pope Benedict said it must first acknowledge the "serious sins committed against defenceless children."
Addressing his "brother bishops", Benedict wrote that it cannot be denied "that some of you and your predecessors failed, at times grievously, to apply the long-established norms of canon law to the crime of child abuse. Serious mistakes were made in responding to allegations.
"I recognise how difficult it was to grasp the extent and complexity of the problem, to obtain reliable information and to make the right decisions in the light of conflicting expert advice. Nevertheless, it must be admitted that grave errors of judgement were made and failures of leadership occurred," he wrote.
"All this has seriously undermined your credibility and effectiveness."
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