Pope meets with victims of clergy sex abuse
Posted 4/17/2008 6:07 PM
By Victor L. Simpson, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON — Pope Benedict XVI, after urging bishops, priests and parishioners to heal the wounds caused by the clergy sex abuse scandal, talked and prayed privately with survivors Thursday in what was believed to be a first-ever meeting between a pontiff and abuse victims.
The Rev. Federico Lombardi, a papal spokesman, said that Benedict and Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley met with a group of five or six victims for about 25 minutes in the chapel of the papal embassy, offering them encouragement and hope.
Lombardi said the pope told the survivors he would pray for them, their families and all victims of clergy sex abuse. Each of the victims spent a few minutes with Benedict privately. Some were in tears during the meeting, Lombardi said.
Benedict has spoken repeatedly about the abuse crisis during his first trip to the United States as pope.
He called the crisis a cause of "deep shame," pledged to keep pedophiles out of the priesthood and decried the "enormous pain" that communities have suffered from such "gravely immoral behavior" by priest.
He told the nation's bishops that the crisis was "sometimes very badly handled," and said they must reach out with love and compassion to victims. At an open air Mass on Thursday at Nationals Park, he also urged Catholic parishioners to do what they can to reach out to victims.
Thousands of priests have been accused of molesting minors in the U.S. since 1950 and the church has paid out more than $2 billion, much of it in just the last six years, when the case of a serial molester in Boston gained national attention and prompted many victims to step forward.
Then-Boston Archbishop Bernard Law was forced to step down when it became apparent that he had allowed accused priests to be shuffled from parish-to-parish.
Gary Bergeron, an outspoken survivor of clergy sex abuse from Boston who was not in Thursday's session, failed in his attempt to meet with Pope John Paul II, Benedict's predecessor, when he spent a week at the Vatican a few years ago.
He called Thursday's meeting "a long-sought-for step in the right direction."
"The Catholic Church is partly based on symbolism, and I think the symbolism had he not met with survivors would have been horrendous," the 45-year-old Bergeron said.
In the meeting, O'Malley presented Benedict with a notebook listing the names victims of sexual abuse from the Boston Archdiocese. There were more than 1,000 names.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Pope’s Comments on Sex Abuse ‘Not Enough’
Gary Bergeron
CBS ‘Early Show’: Pope’s Comments on Sex Abuse ‘Not Enough’
By Kyle Drennen | Wed, 04/16/2008 - 14:15
On Wednesday’s CBS "Early Show," co-host Maggie Rodriguez talked to liberal priest, Fr. Thomas Reese, who also appeared on Monday’s show, and asked about the sex abuse scandals in the American Catholic Church as well as the comments of Pope Benedict XVI regarding the issue: "We heard from some victims' families that a mea culpa is not enough. That merely saying you're "deeply ashamed" is not enough. Do you think anything more will come of this?"
This question followed a report by correspondent Jeff Glor, who began by declaring:
It's believed the Pope could address the issue even further on his visit, either here in Washington or in New York, but some are wondering, why not Boston? For Gary Bergeron, the Pope not going to Boston on this trip is like saying the Pope's not Catholic. It just doesn't make sense... Bergeron was abused and still lives in New England, the epicenter of the scandal.
Glor also played clips of Bergeron, who said of the Pope: "I think it's an opportunity he missed...I would hold out my hand to him so that he could shake it, understand that I'm not the demon here." Of course, the Pope has not "demonized" any victims of abuse, but Glor still decided to use the quote for his report. Despite Rodriguez’s claim that "not enough" had been done, Bergeron actually helped win an $85 million dollar lawsuit for church abuse victims and met personally with Vatican officials.
Read more: http://newsbusters.org/people/gary-bergeron#ixzz0kFZGyS8l
Read more: http://newsbusters.org/people/gary-bergeron#ixzz0kFZH1TRe
CBS ‘Early Show’: Pope’s Comments on Sex Abuse ‘Not Enough’
By Kyle Drennen | Wed, 04/16/2008 - 14:15
On Wednesday’s CBS "Early Show," co-host Maggie Rodriguez talked to liberal priest, Fr. Thomas Reese, who also appeared on Monday’s show, and asked about the sex abuse scandals in the American Catholic Church as well as the comments of Pope Benedict XVI regarding the issue: "We heard from some victims' families that a mea culpa is not enough. That merely saying you're "deeply ashamed" is not enough. Do you think anything more will come of this?"
This question followed a report by correspondent Jeff Glor, who began by declaring:
It's believed the Pope could address the issue even further on his visit, either here in Washington or in New York, but some are wondering, why not Boston? For Gary Bergeron, the Pope not going to Boston on this trip is like saying the Pope's not Catholic. It just doesn't make sense... Bergeron was abused and still lives in New England, the epicenter of the scandal.
Glor also played clips of Bergeron, who said of the Pope: "I think it's an opportunity he missed...I would hold out my hand to him so that he could shake it, understand that I'm not the demon here." Of course, the Pope has not "demonized" any victims of abuse, but Glor still decided to use the quote for his report. Despite Rodriguez’s claim that "not enough" had been done, Bergeron actually helped win an $85 million dollar lawsuit for church abuse victims and met personally with Vatican officials.
Read more: http://newsbusters.org/people/gary-bergeron#ixzz0kFZGyS8l
Read more: http://newsbusters.org/people/gary-bergeron#ixzz0kFZH1TRe
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Pope: I Am "Deeply Ashamed" Over Clergy Sex Abuse
Pope: I Am "Deeply Ashamed" Over Clergy Sex Abuse
VICTOR L. SIMPSON | 04/15/08 11:08 PM |
Pope And Church Sex Abuse Scandal, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope In America, Roman Catholic Church Sex Abuse Scandal, Politics News
ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. — Pope Benedict XVI stepped onto U.S. soil for the time as pontiff Tuesday, arriving to a presidential handshake and wild cheering only hours after he admitted that he is "deeply ashamed" of the clergy sex abuse scandal that has devastated the American church.
Benedict gave hundreds of spectators a two-handed wave as he stepped off a special Alitalia airliner that brought him from Rome. Students from a local Catholic school screamed ecstatically when they saw the pope, who shook hands warmly with President Bush, first lady Laura Bush and their daughter Jenna on the tarmac.
Hundreds of onlookers, some from local Roman Catholic parishes, clapped and shouted as they watched the scene from nearby bleachers.
Benedict tackled the most painful issue facing the U.S. Catholic Church _ clergy sex abuse _ on his flight to America. The U.S. church has paid out $2 billion in abuse costs since 1950, most of that in just the last six years.
Seemingly in a nod to his American flock, the pope spoke in English as he answered questions submitted in advance by reporters.
"It is a great suffering for the church in the United States and for the church in general and for me personally that this could happen," Benedict said. "It is difficult for me to understand how it was possible that priests betray in this way their mission ... to these children."
"I am deeply ashamed, and we will do what is possible so this cannot happen again in the future," the pope said.
Benedict pledged that pedophiles would not be priests in the Catholic Church.
Story continues below
"I do not wish to talk at this moment about homosexuality, but about pedophilia, which is another thing," he said.
"We will absolutely exclude pedophiles from the sacred ministry. It is more important to have good priests than many priests. We will do everything possible to heal this wound."
Gary Bergeron, who was molested by a priest in the 1970s in Lowell, Mass., called the comments a "step I've been looking for." Bergeron said he was disappointed that Benedict did not plan to visit the Archdiocese of Boston, the scene of a case that sparked the greater scandal, but urged the pontiff to meet with victims this week.
The pope's promise failed to mollify other advocates for abuse victims, however. They said the problem is not just molester priests, but bishops and other church authorities who have let errant clergymen continue to serve even after repeated allegations.
"It's easy and tempting to continually focus on the pedophile priests themselves," said Peter Isely, a board member of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "It's harder but crucial to focus on the broader problem _ complicity in the rest of the church hierarchy."
Benedict's pilgrimage is the first trip by a pontiff to the United States since the Boston case in 2002 triggered a crisis that spread throughout the United States and beyond. Hundreds of new charges _ many dating back decades _ have surfaced each year since. There were 691 new accusations in 2007 alone, according to an annual report from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
As head of the Vatican agency that enforces adherence to Catholic doctrine, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was heavily involved in gaining Vatican approval for the reforms U.S. bishops proposed for the American church. The bishops have since released several reports analyzing the scandal and have pledged that all credibly accused priests will be pulled from public ministry.
Benedict described his pilgrimage as a journey to meet a "great people and a great church." He spoke about the American model of religious values within a system of separation of church and state.
President Bush made the unusual gesture of greeting Benedict at Andrews Air Force Base _ the first time he has welcomed a foreign leader there. The two will meet again Wednesday, when a crowd of 9,000 or more is expected at the White House to greet Benedict on his 81st birthday.
Aides say he is in good health and the pope seemed spry as he stepped energetically off the plane Tuesday.
Benedict said he will discuss immigration with Bush, including the difficulties of families who are separated by immigration.
While the pope and Bush differ on such major issues on the Iraq war, capital punishment and the U.S. embargo against Cuba, they do find common ground in opposing abortion, gay marriage and embryonic stem cell research.
White House press secretary Dana Perino said she wouldn't rule out the sex abuse being discussed between the pope and the president, but added that it's not necessarily one of Bush's top priorities in his meeting with Benedict.
Perino said the two leaders would likely discuss human rights, religious tolerance and the fight against violent extremism. She downplayed their differences over Iraq.
Benedict "will hear from the president that America and the world need to hear his message, that God is love, that human life is sacred, that we all must be guided by common moral law, and that we have responsibilities to care for our brothers and sisters in need, at home and across the world," Perino said.
After making little headway in his efforts to rekindle the faith in his native Europe, the German-born Benedict is visiting a country where many of the 65 million Catholics are eager to hear what he says and get to know him. A poll released Sunday by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University found eight in 10 Catholics are somewhat or very satisfied with his leadership.
Benedict is scheduled to visit U.N. headquarters on Friday to meet with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and to address the General Assembly.
Ban said he is looking forward to a wide-ranging discussion with the pontiff on issues ranging from climate change and fighting poverty to disarmament and promoting cultural dialogue.
"We are now facing many challenges these days," Ban told reporters. "We need really strong spiritual support from the pope."
The pope's visit will be the fourth by a leader of the Roman Catholic church to the United Nations: Paul VI came in 1965 when the U.N. celebrated its 20th anniversary; John Paul II came in 1979 at the start of his pontificate and again in 1995 for the U.N.'s 50th anniversary.
___
Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
VICTOR L. SIMPSON | 04/15/08 11:08 PM |
Pope And Church Sex Abuse Scandal, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope In America, Roman Catholic Church Sex Abuse Scandal, Politics News
ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. — Pope Benedict XVI stepped onto U.S. soil for the time as pontiff Tuesday, arriving to a presidential handshake and wild cheering only hours after he admitted that he is "deeply ashamed" of the clergy sex abuse scandal that has devastated the American church.
Benedict gave hundreds of spectators a two-handed wave as he stepped off a special Alitalia airliner that brought him from Rome. Students from a local Catholic school screamed ecstatically when they saw the pope, who shook hands warmly with President Bush, first lady Laura Bush and their daughter Jenna on the tarmac.
Hundreds of onlookers, some from local Roman Catholic parishes, clapped and shouted as they watched the scene from nearby bleachers.
Benedict tackled the most painful issue facing the U.S. Catholic Church _ clergy sex abuse _ on his flight to America. The U.S. church has paid out $2 billion in abuse costs since 1950, most of that in just the last six years.
Seemingly in a nod to his American flock, the pope spoke in English as he answered questions submitted in advance by reporters.
"It is a great suffering for the church in the United States and for the church in general and for me personally that this could happen," Benedict said. "It is difficult for me to understand how it was possible that priests betray in this way their mission ... to these children."
"I am deeply ashamed, and we will do what is possible so this cannot happen again in the future," the pope said.
Benedict pledged that pedophiles would not be priests in the Catholic Church.
Story continues below
"I do not wish to talk at this moment about homosexuality, but about pedophilia, which is another thing," he said.
"We will absolutely exclude pedophiles from the sacred ministry. It is more important to have good priests than many priests. We will do everything possible to heal this wound."
Gary Bergeron, who was molested by a priest in the 1970s in Lowell, Mass., called the comments a "step I've been looking for." Bergeron said he was disappointed that Benedict did not plan to visit the Archdiocese of Boston, the scene of a case that sparked the greater scandal, but urged the pontiff to meet with victims this week.
The pope's promise failed to mollify other advocates for abuse victims, however. They said the problem is not just molester priests, but bishops and other church authorities who have let errant clergymen continue to serve even after repeated allegations.
"It's easy and tempting to continually focus on the pedophile priests themselves," said Peter Isely, a board member of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "It's harder but crucial to focus on the broader problem _ complicity in the rest of the church hierarchy."
Benedict's pilgrimage is the first trip by a pontiff to the United States since the Boston case in 2002 triggered a crisis that spread throughout the United States and beyond. Hundreds of new charges _ many dating back decades _ have surfaced each year since. There were 691 new accusations in 2007 alone, according to an annual report from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
As head of the Vatican agency that enforces adherence to Catholic doctrine, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was heavily involved in gaining Vatican approval for the reforms U.S. bishops proposed for the American church. The bishops have since released several reports analyzing the scandal and have pledged that all credibly accused priests will be pulled from public ministry.
Benedict described his pilgrimage as a journey to meet a "great people and a great church." He spoke about the American model of religious values within a system of separation of church and state.
President Bush made the unusual gesture of greeting Benedict at Andrews Air Force Base _ the first time he has welcomed a foreign leader there. The two will meet again Wednesday, when a crowd of 9,000 or more is expected at the White House to greet Benedict on his 81st birthday.
Aides say he is in good health and the pope seemed spry as he stepped energetically off the plane Tuesday.
Benedict said he will discuss immigration with Bush, including the difficulties of families who are separated by immigration.
While the pope and Bush differ on such major issues on the Iraq war, capital punishment and the U.S. embargo against Cuba, they do find common ground in opposing abortion, gay marriage and embryonic stem cell research.
White House press secretary Dana Perino said she wouldn't rule out the sex abuse being discussed between the pope and the president, but added that it's not necessarily one of Bush's top priorities in his meeting with Benedict.
Perino said the two leaders would likely discuss human rights, religious tolerance and the fight against violent extremism. She downplayed their differences over Iraq.
Benedict "will hear from the president that America and the world need to hear his message, that God is love, that human life is sacred, that we all must be guided by common moral law, and that we have responsibilities to care for our brothers and sisters in need, at home and across the world," Perino said.
After making little headway in his efforts to rekindle the faith in his native Europe, the German-born Benedict is visiting a country where many of the 65 million Catholics are eager to hear what he says and get to know him. A poll released Sunday by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University found eight in 10 Catholics are somewhat or very satisfied with his leadership.
Benedict is scheduled to visit U.N. headquarters on Friday to meet with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and to address the General Assembly.
Ban said he is looking forward to a wide-ranging discussion with the pontiff on issues ranging from climate change and fighting poverty to disarmament and promoting cultural dialogue.
"We are now facing many challenges these days," Ban told reporters. "We need really strong spiritual support from the pope."
The pope's visit will be the fourth by a leader of the Roman Catholic church to the United Nations: Paul VI came in 1965 when the U.N. celebrated its 20th anniversary; John Paul II came in 1979 at the start of his pontificate and again in 1995 for the U.N.'s 50th anniversary.
___
Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
An Opportunity Missed
Decades ago, Rev. Martin Luther King spoke these words. “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter” Rev. King, did not speak from the safe distances of beaches of Malibu. Rev, King spoke from the steps of Washington DC, and he also spoke from the jails of Alabama, and from the streets of Detroit. As a leader he didn’t choose to speak from a safe distance, he chose to speak words that mattered, in places that needed it. Rev. King did not take the easy path. He took the path that made a difference.
An opportunity missed.
The decision by Pope Benedict to bypass Boston during his impending visit is an opportunity missed.
Over the past six years, more than 5,000 priests have been accused -- and some convicted -- of sexual abuse. Thousands of victims have come forward; hundreds of thousands of documents have been released; arrests have been made; sentences have been handed down and over $2 billion dollars has been paid out in settlements. There is no longer a question of “Did it happen?”
It happened.
Pope Benedict’s decision not to come to Boston simply reminds some of us of what some church officials said over 6 years ago, “It never really happened”.
As the moral leader of a faith I once called mine, Pope Benedict has not only an obligation but a genuine responsibility. He is not only the leader of the good Catholics, he is the leader of every catholic. He cannot afford the liberty of choosing to lead only the most willing of followers in the easiest of times.
As a moral leader, he needs to accept the responsibility of addressing challenges the church has faced in the past and in the present. He cannot afford the liberty of facing only the easy issues. He must be willing to lead on the tough issues. He must accept the fact that while some of us no longer consider ourselves Catholics, we still have the need to believe in something good, something true and something real. While the Catholic Church may never again be that for many of us, some of us still have the strong desire and longing to believe in something more.
I am not looking for someone to erase the memories, restore my innocence or restore my faith. A visit by Pope Benedict to Boston would accomplish none of that. The Pope's visit might, however, lend to aid my faith in humanity if he were willing to acknowledge that the church is taking a headstrong, life long approach to protecting generations to come.
As a survivor, as the brother of a survivor & as the son of a survivor, I came forward to make sure that I would never have to say "I am the father of a survivor of clergy abuse".
What I am looking for today, is the same thing I was looking for when I first came forward over 6 years ago, to protect tomorrow generation by having direct and constructive dialog with today’s generation by breaking the cycle of silence. A visit by Pope Benedict to Boston, could have certainly helped to accomplish that.
Years ago, survivors began speaking these words in Boston “I was a victim of Clergy abuse”. Words that I know well. I am not proud of that statement, however I am no longer ashamed of it. Those words have enabled survivors to pry open a door which had been closed for decades. As the moral leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict can not look at that door from a distance, nor can he simply stand on the threshold. He must walk through it.
This weekend, as it has been for the past 6 years, the door to Boston remains open. I welcome Pope Benedict to walk through it.
Contact :
Gary M. Bergeron
garymbergeron@gmail.com
Gary Bergeron, an outspoken survivor of clergy abuse, is the author of “Don't Call Me A Victim, Faith, Hope & Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church”
An opportunity missed.
The decision by Pope Benedict to bypass Boston during his impending visit is an opportunity missed.
Over the past six years, more than 5,000 priests have been accused -- and some convicted -- of sexual abuse. Thousands of victims have come forward; hundreds of thousands of documents have been released; arrests have been made; sentences have been handed down and over $2 billion dollars has been paid out in settlements. There is no longer a question of “Did it happen?”
It happened.
Pope Benedict’s decision not to come to Boston simply reminds some of us of what some church officials said over 6 years ago, “It never really happened”.
As the moral leader of a faith I once called mine, Pope Benedict has not only an obligation but a genuine responsibility. He is not only the leader of the good Catholics, he is the leader of every catholic. He cannot afford the liberty of choosing to lead only the most willing of followers in the easiest of times.
As a moral leader, he needs to accept the responsibility of addressing challenges the church has faced in the past and in the present. He cannot afford the liberty of facing only the easy issues. He must be willing to lead on the tough issues. He must accept the fact that while some of us no longer consider ourselves Catholics, we still have the need to believe in something good, something true and something real. While the Catholic Church may never again be that for many of us, some of us still have the strong desire and longing to believe in something more.
I am not looking for someone to erase the memories, restore my innocence or restore my faith. A visit by Pope Benedict to Boston would accomplish none of that. The Pope's visit might, however, lend to aid my faith in humanity if he were willing to acknowledge that the church is taking a headstrong, life long approach to protecting generations to come.
As a survivor, as the brother of a survivor & as the son of a survivor, I came forward to make sure that I would never have to say "I am the father of a survivor of clergy abuse".
What I am looking for today, is the same thing I was looking for when I first came forward over 6 years ago, to protect tomorrow generation by having direct and constructive dialog with today’s generation by breaking the cycle of silence. A visit by Pope Benedict to Boston, could have certainly helped to accomplish that.
Years ago, survivors began speaking these words in Boston “I was a victim of Clergy abuse”. Words that I know well. I am not proud of that statement, however I am no longer ashamed of it. Those words have enabled survivors to pry open a door which had been closed for decades. As the moral leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict can not look at that door from a distance, nor can he simply stand on the threshold. He must walk through it.
This weekend, as it has been for the past 6 years, the door to Boston remains open. I welcome Pope Benedict to walk through it.
Contact :
Gary M. Bergeron
garymbergeron@gmail.com
Gary Bergeron, an outspoken survivor of clergy abuse, is the author of “Don't Call Me A Victim, Faith, Hope & Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church”
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