Vatican crisis talks
on sex scandal
Twelve US cardinals have begun unprecedented formal talks with
Pope John Paul II in the Vatican on the American Catholic
Church's handling of the child sex abuse scandal.
The growing number of cases of
sexual abuse of minors by American Catholic priests - both
alleged cases and those which have led to criminal convictions -
has spurred calls for drastic action.
The cardinals are meeting Vatican officials in charge of priests
and bishops worldwide. They include Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger,
who is in overall charge of doctrinal discipline in the church. |
Only American cardinals have been
called to Rome |
Each cardinal will be invited to speak and then the Pope will
address them. He has already had an informal meeting with them.
Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington DC, quoted by the
Associated Press news agency, said the US cardinals "want to
make sure that we handle this, and that we are able to say to
our people that this is under control, that it won't happen
again".
The cardinals are hoping for Vatican guidance and backing on a
range of issues, including whether the church should draw up a
policy for reporting abuse claims to the police.
'Wake-up call'
The meeting was called by the Pope in response to growing alarm
in both the American media and the American Catholic community
regarding the issue.
Although sex abuse scandals have rocked dioceses in other
nations, only the American cardinals have been called to the
Vatican.
America's most senior cardinal, Boston's Archbishop Bernard Law,
is under pressure after acknowledging that he transferred a
priest to another parish despite knowing of sexual misconduct
allegations against him.
One unnamed US cardinal told The Los Angeles Times that he and
other prelates planned to urge the Vatican to ask Cardinal Law
to resign.
Before Mass on Sunday, Cardinal Law had said the sex abuse
scandal was undermining the church and that more must be done to
overcome the crisis.
"This is a wake-up call for the Church," Cardinal Law said,
referring to the scandal.
More than 400 complaints have been lodged against priests in the
Boston diocese alone.
And accusations of child molestation have been made in at least
16 other US dioceses including Chicago, New York, Philadelphia
and San Francisco.
The scandals are also a huge financial burden for the Church and
there is talk that some archdioceses will be bankrupted as a
result.
Other countries
Although the US church is the hardest hit by sex abuse
allegations, similar scandals have hit clergy in different
countries in recent years, including Austria, Ireland, Poland,
France and Australia.
In Ireland, Catholic bishops have already met behind closed
doors to finalise plans for an internal audit to investigate
child abuse.
The Irish church has said its investigation into allegations of
child sex abuse will go back more than 60 years and will be
carried out by lay people who are experts in child protection
and legislation.
Earlier this month the Bishop of Ferns in the Republic of
Ireland resigned following criticism over his handling of sex
abuse allegations.
In Germany, bishops agreed that a special commission would study
the child sex abuse problem and if necessary set up an expert
team to create binding rules for the Catholic Church there.
--BBC |
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