Pope apologises for 'evil' of child abuse
July 20, 2008 “Here I would like to pause to acknowledge the shame which we have all felt as a result of the sexual abuse of minors by some clergy and religious (order members) in this country,” Benedict said. The World Youth Day festivities have been partly overshadowed by pressure from victims for a full apology amid claims the church had not adequately addressed the issue over recent years.
But groups representing Australian victims said the Pope’s words alone were not enough and that he should have apologised in front of sex abuse victims, not priests. “Sorry may be a start but we want to see a lot more,” said Chris MacIsaac, spokeswoman for the victims’ group Broken Rites, adding that she wanted victims to be treated fairly and not to be “re-abused by church authorities.”
Helen Last from the clergy sexual abuse advocacy group In Good Faith and Associates, said the Pope’s words would not ease decades of victims’ suffering.
“It is just a drop in a bucket " a bucket full of tears that all of us who work with victims have been sitting with for 25 to 30 years in Australia,” she said. “It’s not really a hands-on response is it? It’s just a few words from the CEO.”
In a visit to the United States in April, the Pope spoke of the shame and suffering that abusive priests had brought upon the church, but stopped short of a direct apology.
In Sydney, he went further, calling also for compensation for sex abuse victims, ordering Australian clergy to help them recover from their ordeals and demanding that abuser priests be punished.
“Victims should receive compassion and care, and those responsible for these evils must be brought to justice,” he said.
“These misdeeds, which constitute so grave a betrayal of trust, deserve unequivocal condemnation.”
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