Bad company:
Source: “The Pope Meets the Press: Media Coverage of the Clergy Abuse Scandal,” Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, July 11, 2010.
On Friday the Pope issued a very public apology to the victims of child abuse at the hands of Catholic priests. From the AP report:
Benedict’s pledge was similar to comments he has made in the past. But it was uttered in the highly symbolic setting of a Mass in St. Peter’s Square, concelebrated by 15,000 white-robed priests, all marking the end of the Vatican’s Year of the Priest – a year marred by revelations of hundreds of new cases of clerical abuse, cover-ups in several nations and Vatican inaction to root out pedophiles.
In his homily, Benedict lamented that during what should have been a year of joy for the priesthood the “sins of priests came to light – particularly the abuse of the little ones.”
“We too insistently beg forgiveness from God and from the persons involved, while promising to do everything possible to ensure that such abuse will never occur again,” he said.
He said in admitting men into the priesthood and in forming them as clergymen “we will do everything we can to weigh the authenticity of their vocation and make every effort to accompany priests along their journey, so that the Lord will protect them and watch over them in troubled situations and amid life’s dangers.”
AP’s, um, media coverage of the scandal and the newsmaker continues to make the salient point:
BishopAccountability.org, said the pontiff’s remarks were both a disappointment and a squandered opportunity in that he only prescribed an internal step: better screening for priests.
It called for him to tell his bishops to do more: stop opposing legislation to extend statutes of limitations so victims can seek justice from abusers; post information about known abusers on diocesan websites and for the Vatican office that handles abuse cases to do the same.
Coverage is unlikely to lessen until attention is paid to the part of the system that is broken. And that is with the bishops who have systematically sent abusive priests back into service without revealing their history to those who need to know.