TIMES ONLINE: It is Benedict XVI’s duty to implement worldwide the reforms already made by Catholic leaders in Britain
The paedophile abuse cases have become a big crisis for the Roman Catholic Church. A crisis for the laity, a crisis for the clergy, a crisis for the bishops and, increasingly, a crisis for the Pope himself.
It has caused great damage to the victims, who need to be considered first. In some cases the psychological damage will last a lifetime. The crisis has damaged the image that the Church has of itself; it has damaged the authority of the Pope.
Priests see themselves as men of spiritual values, disciplined in their personal lives and requiring considerable personal sacrifices, including the sacrifice involved in a life of celibacy. They usually have the respect of their own communities.
It is still the case that congregations usually trust their own priests; that is true of the Catholic Church and of the Church of England, but it is easy for the Catholic clergy to feel they may be suspected of criminal conduct with children, which they find as outrageous as does everyone else. Like MPs who have never abused their expenses, many priests must feel that they are suffering guilt by association.
Most clergy live relatively austere religious lives. The proportion who have ever had sexual allegations made against them is about one in 200. That proportion has been high enough to cast some degree of suspicion on the priesthood as a whole. The clergy are able to do their work because they are trusted, and that trust has been damaged.
The Catholic Church of previous eras had a policy that sexual offences should be hidden. This policy of “cover-up” has done the greatest possible harm, both to the victims, who were not believed, and to the spread of abuse. Until about ten years ago, most Catholic bishops thought it was their duty to protect the Church from scandal; they mistakenly believed that secrecy would act in the interest of the Church.
They protected paedophile priests from the police; they persuaded the unfortunate victims to sign secrecy agreements; they kept the stories out of the press; they moved the peccant priests from one parish or diocese to another. Families were persuaded that their children, who had suffered abuse, were fantasists or liars. The victims were made to feel that it was they who were guilty. >>> William Rees-Mogg | Monday, March 29, 2010
