The abuse scandal was in the spotlight during the Pope’s visit to the nation.
“The Pope cited statistics showing that the majority of abuses occur within families, at schools, and in the world of sports,” said Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication. “With unprecedented clarity, he aimed to eliminate any alibi for the misuse of those numbers by those who would seek to defend themselves by highlighting others’ responsibilities and minimizing the issue.”
Tornielli also defended the steps taken by Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI to address sexual abuse:
It is true that the Church has undertaken, in the last
quarter century, a path that has led to very strict emergency laws
against abuse. It is true that others have not taken the same steps.
However, it is equally true that abuse within the Church is something
horrible, which always begins with an abuse of power and manipulation of
the conscience of those who are defenseless...
The Successor of Peter, following in the footsteps of his two
predecessors, has thus promulgated very strict new laws to stop abuse,
and has stated that even a single case of abuse against minors within
the Church would be one too many. He indicated to the entire Church that
the most appropriate attitude is one of shame, humiliation, and the
request for forgiveness. It is the same penitential attitude that Pope
Benedict XVI proposed - though he was misunderstood - when he affirmed that
the greatest enemy for the Church is not external but the sin within it.