Catholics and Child Abuse

I was saddened to hear a Catholic priest discussing the child abuse issue on the radio this morning. When asked whether he would report, or encourage the penitent to report, any incident of child abuse, he issued a categorical 'No'. According to him, the Catholic church has, within its own ranks and mechanisms, all that is necessary to deal with such issues!

Sadly, this doesn't seem to marry up with reality and only enflames others against the Catholic church and therefore, by association, the universal Church as well. The priest said that he couldn't tell someone that they could be forgiven but needed to turn themselves in, this wasn't the nature of absolution. Funny that, but I thought the question was, "Who is there that condemns you?" and the instruction was, "Go and sin no more!"

Following on from the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, and his words regarding the Cloyne report, the Church of Rome needs to get its act together and deal openly and honestly with its problems. After all, when the head of a (presumed Catholic) nation says things like:

"This is not Rome. This is the Republic of Ireland 2011, a republic of laws . . .The Cloyne Report excavates the dysfunction, disconnection, elitism, the narcissism -- that dominate the culture of the Vatican to this day," and in closing voiced the opinion that the actions of the Catholic Church were, "Absolutely disgraceful."

It's all well and good standing behind the sanctity of the confessional but when I was training the group I was in was told by a senior police officer that in reality this did not exist and that we needed to take care over issues such as child abuse and the like lest we become complicit! Interestingly, this was in the late eighties! Enda Kenny laid down the gauntlet to Benedict and those who form part of his church - seems that, if today's priest is a voice of that organisation, it will not be taken up :(

We do need to be able to hear each others' confession but we also need to discharge our duty towards the innocents and to Christ, whose body we are, faithfully and i a way that restores and also honours God's laws and those laws that are also natural and national (which of course reflect God's law more often than not too!).

Pax