AMID the backdrop of unrelenting attacks on his person in the resurgence of sexual abuse scandals involving the clergy, Pope Benedict ushered in the Holy Week celebration with a solemn Mass at St. Peter’s Square, telling Christians to walk the path of Jesus, “towards the life according to the truth.”
The Holy Father said as Jesus walks he leads us to journey with him… “to the courage that does not let itself be intimidated by the gossip of dominant opinions; to the patience that stands up for and supports the other.”
Unjust accusations of cover-up and failure to administer sanctions to erring priests have been hurled at the pope in the light of sex abuse scandals in Europe and America.
Pope Benedict, on March 19 issued a pastoral letter to Irish Catholics, wherein he condemned strongly the abuse of children as “sinful and criminal.”
The pastoral letter came as a response to a detailed report of the study of an independent commission in Ireland documenting cases of sexual abuse committed by Church officials for years.
The pope did not mention the issue in his homily on Palm Sunday, which incidentally, was also the 25th anniversary of World Youth Day.
"Being Christian is a journey, or better: it is a pilgrimage, it is a going with Jesus Christ,” the pope said to the thousands of people, majority of whom were youth, at St. Peter’s Square.
The Holy Father reflected on the aspect of following Jesus Christ, which he said clearly expressed the theme of Palm Sunday celebration.
“He leads us to availability to the suffering, to the abandoned; to the loyalty that stands with the other even when the situation makes it difficult…to the goodness that does not let itself be disarmed not even by ingratitude. He leads us to love… to God,” the pope said.
Sex abuse scandal
In what some say an orchestrated agenda against the Church to bring it down and “discredit its moral authority”, media attack on the pope had been unrelentless since the sex scandal issue came out.
The sex abuse scandal came at the heels of a detailed report of the study of an independent commission in Ireland that documented cases of abuse committed by the clergy that spanned 60 years.
Also this month, news report came out about a German priest accused of molesting boys who worked in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, which then Cardinal Ratzinger headed.
Another story of a Wisconsin priest who was also involved in a sex abuse scandal, but happened a long time ago likewise surfaced. The priest has long since died.
In defense of the pope
Some European and American prelates have defended the Holy Father against insinuations of Vatican “cover-up” of the issue, saying that the Church has not been negligent in “supporting and orienting the episcopates in combating and uprooting abuses wherever they manifest themselves."
Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of Vatican Radio, said, "the directives for the correct handling and prevention of abuses have been reemphasized, updated and renewed in Germany, Austria, Australia, and Canada."
Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols also stated the Church’s firm commitment to protect children from sexual abuse and weed out past offenders.
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops also came out with a statement on March 18 defending the pope against the unjust accusations hurled at him.
Meanwhile, New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan said Pope Benedict is suffering “some of the same unjust accusations, shouts of the mob, and scourging of the pillar, as did Jesus.”
No cover up
The Vatican has rejected claims that the pope covered up sex abuse by priests and praising him as a leader determined to combat scandals challenging the
Church.
In recent years, the pope has taken steps to combat such abuses by meeting and apologizing to victims.
Just very recently, the 83-year old pontiff said he was “truly sorry” for the church’s mishandling of widespread sexual abuse by priests in Ireland that surfaced years ago.
In what appears to be his first pastoral letter on the scandals, the pope said clergymen guilty of sex abuse should be held accountable for their crimes before “properly constituted tribunals.”
"Openly acknowledge your guilt, submit yourselves to the demands of justice, but do not despair of God's mercy," he said.
In the letter Benedict XVI also harshly criticized the Irish Catholic bishops’ hierarchy in dealing with the allegations.
“You and your predecessors failed, at times grievously, to apply the long-established norms of canon law for the crime of child abuse," he wrote.
Father Lombardi said impartial observers would recognize that the pope and the doctrinal congregation are continuing to guide bishops and help them "combat and root out the blight of abuse wherever it appears."
The pope's strongly worded letter to Irish Catholics earlier this month demonstrated his commitment to "healing, renewal and reparation" in the church, he said.
‘Cleanup’
Cardinal Walter Kasper, for his part, admitted that the Catholic leadership had on occasion maintained stillness over sex abuse cases.
The top Vatican official, however, defended the pontiff, saying Benedict XVI “was the first one who—already as a cardinal felt the need for new, harsher rules.”
Media attacks on the pope go "beyond any limit of justice and loyalty," Kasper told Corriere della Sera (Evening Courier), an Italian daily newspaper.
Kasper then urged for a cleanup within the church, adding that church officials must be more aggressive in dealing with sex abuse cases.
"We need a culture of attentiveness and courage, and a housecleaning," said Kasper, also a German.
The Vatican officials said the pope’s letter to the Ireland’s Catholic hierarchy alone is a strong indication that the church is not only equipped—it is an indication that the pontiff is willing.
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