Pope "truly sorry" for Irish sexual abuse cases (Roundup)

Mar 20, 2010, 15:42 GMT

Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday apologised to the victims of sexual abuses by priests in Ireland and acknowledged the failures of the Catholic Church's top clerics in handling such cases.

But while he expressed a willingness to meet the victims, he stopped short of issuing specific disciplinary measures against perpetrators or their superiors.

'You (the victims) have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry,' the pontiff said in a letter read out in churches and parishes throughout Ireland.

The pastoral letter addressed to Irish Catholics was the most detailed response to date from the Vatican to the long-brewing scandal.

In the widely anticipated document, Benedict expressed 'the shame and remorse that we all feel.'

'I can only share in the dismay and the sense of betrayal that so many of you have experienced on learning of these sinful and criminal acts and the way the Church authorities in Ireland dealt with them.'

He also addressed priests and other religious figures who have abused children - an Irish government-commissioned report has detailed more than 300 cases since 1975.

'You betrayed the trust that was placed in you by innocent young people and their parents,' Benedict said.

'You must answer for it before Almighty God and before properly constituted tribunals,' he added.

Benedict then announced that he would dispatch papal inspectors to dioceses in Ireland, as well as seminaries and religious congregations.

Irish church officials welcomed the move, with All-Ireland Primate Cardinal Sean Brady saying he was 'deeply grateful to the Holy Father for his profound kindness and concern.'

But groups representing the victims were far from impressed.

'We feel the letter falls far short of addressing the concerns of the victims,' Maeve Lewis of One in Four was quoted as saying in the Irish Times website.

Lewis also complained that the pope had failed to single out the responsibilities of the Vatican in the scandal.

'The pope speaks only of the failures in the Irish Church, and neglects the role of the Vatican,' Lewis said.

And while Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said the pope now 'recognises the failures of church authorities in how they dealt with sinful and criminal acts', commentators in Ireland said concrete gestures were needed to restore the church's battered moral authority in the country.

In his letter, the pontiff did not mention specific disciplinary measures against bishops and other clerics who have been accused of covering up of cases of paedophilia.

But his spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, said the letter was meant as a 'heartfelt' message by the pontiff to Irish Catholics rather than a set of bureaucratic procedures.

'It focuses on the suffering of the victims and the responsibilities of the Church,' Lombardi said in Rome.

'This is just the first step of a long process,' he added.

The Vatican has had to confront an increasing number of revelations about alleged abuses by priests at Catholic schools and institutions in a variety of countries, including the pontiff's native Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Brazil.

And while the Vatican said Saturday's letter was directed at Ireland, Germany's top Catholic cleric, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, noted that the pope's pastoral letter gave 'clear instructions for the entire church.'

'What he is telling (Catholics in Ireland) is valid for the entire church and is clearly also a message to us in Germany,' Zollitsch said in a statement.

The head of the Catholic Church in Austria, Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, said the letter was 'also meant for us in Austria too.'

In any case, the pontiff would decide 'on the appropriate time and method' to address the issue in Germany and elsewhere, the pope's spokesman said.

In the case of Ireland, the responsibility by church officials 'has been ascertained,' Lombardi said, referring to findings of a public inquiry known as the Murphy Report.

The letter shared many of the views of the commission with regards to the Irish church's shortcomings, including inadequate procedures for determining the suitability of candidates for the priesthood, Lombardi said.

'Urgent action is needed to address these factors,' Benedict added.

The pontiff has in the past met victims of sex abuse by priests during his visits to the United States and Australia.