Pope voices 'shame, remorse' for child abuse in Irish Church

B Borg

Mar 22nd 2010, 12:59

cont And for Malta and my fellow Maltese, the Murphy report has a word of warning. Let me quote one of the Murphy report's conclusions: "The State authorities facilitated the cover up by not fulfilling their responsibilities to ensure that the law was applied equally to all and allowing the Church institutions to be beyond the reach of the normal law enforcement processes. The welfare of children, which should have been the first priority, was not even a factor to be considered in the early stages. Instead the focus was on the avoidance of scandal and the preservation of the good name, status and assets of the institution and of what the institution regarded as its most important members – the priests."

B Borg

Mar 22nd 2010, 12:58

cont.. Anyone who thinks that the church is being victimised ought to read the Murphy report, which details the sheer scale and horror of child abuse that went on in the Archdiocese of Dublin. You can find the report at http://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/Pages/PB09000504. It not only details the abuse itself, but very clearly shows how priests, bishops, archbishops, cardinals and the vatican itself actively worked at covering up abuse, denying victims any recognition, and knowingly allowed convicted paedophile priests to continue working, simply transferring them from one parish to another. It is despicable, disgusting, and beyond contempt. cont

B Borg

Mar 22nd 2010, 12:53

John Smith

Mar 21st 2010, 11:21

Judgment begins in the house of the Lord. By His very nature, the Lord is infinitely compassionate, but infinitely HOLY.

renald williams

Mar 21st 2010, 10:59

"before properly constituted tribunals."

without judging, hope its not a roundabout... sincere peace and health to you all

JANNAR SENA 2002
JOHN PAUL2 U JOSEPH RATZINGER MILL-KONGREGAZZJONI GHAD-DUTTRINA TAL-FIDI :
(SA 1965 L-INKIZIZZJONI) ; REGOLAMENTI TAL-KNISJA TA’ RUMA DWAR ABBUZI SESSWALI

IL-KAZIJIET HUMA SUGGETTI GHAS-SEGRETEZZA MILL-KAP TAL-KNISJA TA’ RUMA .
IL-KAZIJIET IRIDU JGHADDU BISS GHAND QASSISIN TAL-KNISJA TA’ RUMA .
L-IMHALLFIN U L-AVUKATI JRIDU JKUNU QASSISIN TAL-KNISJA TA’ RUMA BISS .
IL-QORTI TRID TKUN TRIBUNAL TAL-KNISJA TA’ RUMA BISS .
MIN ISOFRI ABBUZ MA JRIDX IKUN GHALAQ ID-29 SENA .

adrian aquilina

Mar 21st 2010, 10:47

mr franco,the church is not special,it must not have special rules,a complete outside criminal investigation must be done and all ,inc people who covered it up like the pope,arrested..any other business would be closed down and the church is just another business,nothing else.read the bgod delusion among other books for the proof,scientific and historical,that religion is all fake.common sense can show you this anyway..child abuse is up there with the worst crimes and the church has been a paedophiles heaven for as long as it has been going,along with murder,wars,genocides,reape etc..no special treatment for any religious business..open your eyes from these supernatural religions and think of the victims not the institution that let it all happen..justice now

Peter Grima

Mar 21st 2010, 09:43

MORE THEN APOLOGIES, THESE PEOPLE WANT JUSTICE AND PUT THOSE WHO ABUSED THEM BEHIND BARS AND THE CHURCH MUST STOP PROTECTING IT'S MEMBERS THE SO CALLED " PEOPLE OF GOD " WHO ABUSED INNOCENT CHILDREN. STOP THE COVER-UP AND STOP IT NOW. THIS IS THE CRY OF THE TRULY ROMAN CATHOLICS.

Franco Farrugia

Mar 21st 2010, 09:25

People who constantly throw stones at the Church are those who do not have anything to do with it - if people were real faithful in the sense of the word, they would shut up and weep for and with the Church.
It is interesting to note that the term 'COMPENSATION' frequently turns up. Only God knows how many mouths have been shut tight by money given by the Church. Victims who are people of principle would not stoop so low as to silence themselves by being financially compensated.
Celibacy is not the key issue in this problem. The problem lies in human fragility and authority in the wrong hands. After all, little is said about abuse to minors from non -religious. But, of course, religious people should know better.
Priests and religious are human beings and so, NOT above the law. That having been said, I would rather not see the day when a priest or religious is taken to court for a serious omission.

D Grima

Mar 21st 2010, 06:34

The Pope carries the responsibility of his predecessors ,so in his name and that of those before him,yes he carries the blame.

There are many things for which the Pope in his name and that of the Catholic Church is at fault. Not least the death of millions through the ages,ranging from needless war to the denial of condoms for people to protect themselves against a certain,painfull death. The rights of gay people to a life that's at least equal to the rest of society is another..need I go on?


Without gloating, I notice the silence of those usual Church apologists and bible punchers usually the first to jump to the Church's tune in comments on this newspaper's comments columns.

Joe Xuereb

Mar 21st 2010, 01:16

2) To sum up. Any Institution that is incapable of respecting its own rules is in very serious trouble indeed. And at the moment and for the foreseeable future, I would not like to be in the Vatican's Prada-ed feet.

Joe Xuereb

Mar 21st 2010, 00:15

1) There is one huge problem here and it is practically nsurmountable. The Church as an institution has set up its rules of what is good and what is bad. When its own break the rule - and we're talking about very serious crimes - how does an Institution extricate itself from this situation. This creates a huge problem also for the followers of, in this case, the RC belief system. I do not believe that religion can be practised according to what suits or doesn't (an example of this is when a gay person confesses 'his' proclivities and the priests advises that, if they are going to do it at all, then at least find one partner and be monogamous. What WHAT?!?! A celibate priest is in no position to advise anybody on matters sexual).
People who are practising RCs are in a bit of a quandary. They invest heavily in their religion. When the Vatican admits to shortcomings what are believers supposed to do, especially seeing that these confessions and admissions and apologies by the Vatican come in fits and starts.
cont./

Dr Ing Patrick Attard

Mar 20th 2010, 19:16

I think it is unfair to blame the Pope for abuse which took place 40-50 years ago. He wasn't even in charge at the time.

He is to blame however on misinformation on condoms leading to the spread of the HIV-AIDS epidemic and for his homophobic messages which incitement hatred towards gays! Will we have to wait for 50 years for an apology on these??

D Grima

Mar 20th 2010, 17:27

It's the one bad egg in the basket that makes all the others stink Mr Farrugia.

Why instead of reporting that bad egg does the Church protect,hide and allow it to get away as if nothing happened?. Most of the Children in the Church's care have suffered enough already without having to take further sexual and vindictive abuse both.physical and mental.

Those guilty should be made to face the full force of the law,not hidden and given protection in the hope that it will all die down,leaving traumatised children to fend as best they can.and on top of that at times,accuse them of telling lies.

You would do well to stop being apologetic and urge for the truth to be out.Those abused deserve nothing less.

Antoine Farrugia

Mar 20th 2010, 17:14

The comments here show how difficult it is to think, rather than respond emotively to the issue. @ Bonello: since over 90% of child sexual abuse is perpetrated by people who are NOT celibate, it does seem that celibacy is the issue. So maybe those who write should keep the two issues separate. @ Grima: many Maltese Religious (i.e. priests, brothers and nuns) that is, many of our own Maltese brothers and sisters, cousins etc, have taken it upon themselves, under the umbrella of Catholic organisations in our country to care for other people's children when they needed someone's help and their parents and extended family for some reason couldn't provide it. In many, many cases these children went into care when they needed to be protected from someone within their families, even, and the State does not help them as much as it should neither. This does not excuse the wrongdoing of some of them, but please, be balanced in dishing out praise as well as blame, ok? @ Vella: kindly look up the debates and issues surrounding 'mandatory reporting' because it is a complex issue, and not as simple as you make it out to be. Thanks.

simon galea

Mar 20th 2010, 15:47

The pope said priests and religious workers guilty of child abuse "must answer" for their crimes ".before properly constituted tribunals"
For justice to be done these people should be handed over to the police. Can the pope assure us all that all these cases have been reported to the police? Stop beating around the bush.

Louise Vella

Mar 20th 2010, 15:06

All documents relating to child abuse by Maltese priests are kept in the most secret archives of the Maltese Curia. Mgr Cremona should immediately provide the Maltese public with the list of priest child molesters defrocked by the Vatican. By so doing he would inform parents about priests who are a danger to our children.

When is the Maltese parliament going to pass a law to impose mandatory reporting to civil authorities by institutions, including the Church, of any person suspected of child abuse within the institution and to prosecute officials of organizations/institutions for covering up sexual abuse of children?

When will Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi set up an independent Commission to enquire if what has happened in Ireland has occurred, or is occurring, also in Malta? It is important to know the truth and to take remedial action. It is more important to make sure that such behaviour does not go on, unhindered and unchecked by the police and court authorities.
Ireland and Malta have so many things in common.

carmelo aquilina

Mar 20th 2010, 14:38

It is not the church inMalta which has to associate itself with this apology but the Government which has colluded in allowing it to run its own secret investigations and secrecy even when it is satisfied that abuse has taken place. Justice has being denied to the victims and abusers were still allowed to come into contact with children. Let the Prime Minister and the Children's Commissioner issue a joitn statement with the archbishop to state clearly that all allegations of abuse will be investigated by the police, that the Church pays compensation to victims and agrees that the statute of limitations will no longer apply for cases where shame and anguish often stop victims from admitting abuse for many years later. Are we incapable of learning from the hard won-lessons from other countries ? Will we have more scandals before the Maltese authorities say 'enough is enough' ?

ray sacco

Mar 20th 2010, 14:26

this is only an attempt to calm down the victims so that they would not sue the catholic church for damages. the public wants action! justice seems be equal for everyone except for the catholic church regime! a person committing a crime and another who conceal it should be arraigned, no matter who they are!

Louise Vella

Mar 20th 2010, 13:55

The pope’s apology is too little too late. It does not go far enough. The Pope does not offer new mechanisms or policies to enforce accountability by the bishops. At this point it is decisive action and not words which are needed.
I expected the Pope to oblige all his bishops to report all allegations of sexual abuse by priests to the civil authorities to ensure that the guilty priests would be prosecuted.

D Grima

Mar 20th 2010, 13:49

The Pope has not apologised for the systematic cover up by the Church of abuses that have been taking place over this long period. All this to protect the Church's power,influence and it's wealth.

A half hearted and unacceptable apology if ever there was one.

What about the abuse of Children under the church's care in Malta. The long silence and failure to address these issues with a full apology and heavy compensation makes the Pope's visit not one to long forward too. The longer thing's are left unsaid and hidden, the less little credibility the Curia has left.

Where is the crusading press when they are needed, on this Island?

Alexander Azzopardi

Mar 20th 2010, 13:27

London bookmakers are taking 3 to 1 odds that Pope Benedict will resign !!!

are we living in a world of constant change,
well maybe as it will not be the first pope to resign, and why not .

Mario Bonello

Mar 20th 2010, 13:14

There's very little hope of these child abuses coming to an end as long as the church maintains its stand on the celibacy status of priests and nuns. It's the deprivation to respond to one's natural instincts that causes frustration and results in such atrocious, unnatural actions. And unfortunately it is such actions that are probably the main reason for the catholic church's decline in popularity all over the world. About time the catholic church realises this, sheds it conservatism and bigotry and starts adapting itself to present day needs. Unfortunately we won't be seeing this happening with the present Pontiff.