ITALY: An organisation supporting victims of clerical sex abuse says Pope Benedict XVI has not done enough to bring perpetrators to justice

Record ID: 334666

  • Title: ITALY: An organisation supporting victims of clerical sex abuse says Pope Benedict XVI has not done enough to bring perpetrators to justice
  • Date: 26th February 2013
  • Summary: PHOTOGRAPHS OF CHILDREN
  • Embargoed: 13th March 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Italy
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVA631DO259VOEZSUY89MH89OACK
  • Story Text: Pope Benedict did not do enough to investigate allegations of sexual abuse by priests, an organisation which represents abuse victims said on Tuesday (February 26).
    Speaking at a news conference in Rome, one of the members, who himself was a victim of abuse by a priest, said the current pope should have taken more action against accused clergymen.

    "Benedict was perfectly positioned to make the kind of change that was needed," said David Clohessy, the Director of the Survivors' Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP).

    "It's obviously very, very tough to change when wrongdoers are virtually never disciplined. This may sound harsh, it may sound trite, but there's almost not a single bishop on the planet today who drives a smaller car or does his own laundry or takes fewer vacations because of the clergy sex abuse crisis. It's a crisis that's had massive impact on the daily lives of the church but really not so much on the daily lives of the men who are causing the crisis," he added.
    Pope Benedict, who will step down on Friday (February 28) will become the first pontiff in some six centuries to resign.
    SNAP members are calling on the pontiff to use his last days in office to set a new standard and take action against members of the clergy accused of having carried out abuse.
    They also called on the new pope to tackle the subject.

    "From a new pope we would simply expect courage, one who's going to take courageous, decisive action to help change centuries of recklessness and secrecy and callousness. It matters less to us where he's from, either geographically or theologically, it's going to take real courage on his part and he has to put the safety of kids as job one," Clohessy said.
    Britain's most senior Roman Catholic cleric, cardinal Keith O'Brien, will not attend the upcoming conclave after being accused of behaving inappropriately with priests over a period of 30 years.
    Clohessy welcomed Monday's news that O'Brien would not be heading to the Vatican, but hoped more would be done to investigate the allegations against him.

    "You know, some consequences for wrongdoing are better than no consequences," he said.

    "We're glad Cardinal O'Brien is not coming but we think frankly that the pope should take further action against him and we certainly think that secular authorities should be investigating his archdiocese. Obviously if the man at the top is so severely compromised, it's hard to imagine that he would have done the right thing in clergy sex abuse cases during his watch," he said.
    The Catholic Church's handling of the sexual abuse of children and others by priests has dogged the papacy of Benedict, Almost 10,000 people have signed a petition urging a U.S. cardinal not to take part in selecting the next pope, saying to do so would insult victims of sexual abuse by priests committed while he was Archbishop of Los Angeles from 1985 to 2011.
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