ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE, SEPT. 16, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The Church was not sufficiently vigilant or sufficiently quick in responding to the problem of sexual abusers among clergy, Benedict XVI says.
The Pope made this affirmation today en route to Scotland for the first leg of his four-day trip to the United Kingdom. As is customary, he gave a press conference to a group of journalists on the flight with him.
Speaking of the sexual abuse scandal, he affirmed: "First of all I must say that these revelations were a shock to me, a great sadness; it is difficult to understand how this perversion of the priestly ministry was possible. At the moment of ordination, the priest, prepared for years for this moment, says 'yes' to Christ to be his voice, his mouth, his hands. [...] How a man who has done and said this can then fall into this perversion is difficult to understand.
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1 comment:
It is *very* important to differentiate between the men in the Church (the hierarchy) and the eternal Church. None of us do the Bride of Christ any favors by deploring how and where "the Church" has failed, which is a falsehood. Instead, when we speak or write, may I suggest that we Catholics take special care to point out the difference between men (and women) who profess to be children of the Church and yet scandalize her good name as Spouse of Christ? Men can and do sin, but the true and ETERNAL Church of Christ (the Roman Catholic Church) is authoritative, infallible, and indefectible. May we never forget THAT truth!
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