Pope to Irish: Child abuse by clergy 'a mystery' - CathNews NZ

Pope to Irish: Child abuse by clergy ‘a mystery’

Tuesday, June 19th, 2012

Pope Benedict XVI told Irish Catholics on Sunday it is a mystery why priests and other church officials abused children entrusted in their care, undermining faith in the church “in an appalling way.”

By describing the decades of child abuse in Catholic parishes, schools and church-run institutions and parishes in Ireland as a “mystery,” the pontiff could further anger rank-and-file faithful in Ireland.

Benedict commented on the scandals of sexual abuse and cover-ups by church hierarchy in a pre-recorded video message for an outdoor Mass attended by 75,000 Catholics, many from overseas, in Ireland’s largest sports stadium. Ireland’s prime minister and president attended the Mass, the final event of a Eucharistic Congress aimed at shoring up flagging faith. Continue reading

Related Posts:

Additional reading

News category: News Shorts.

Tags: Ireland, Pope, Sexual abuse

Analysis and Comment
- The optimism of Timothy Radcliffe
  
  Fr Timothy Radcliffe, the Dominican friar, was chosen by Pope Francis to lead the three-day retreat for all participants prior to the first assembly last October of the Synod on Synodality. This was a position of great trust given the Read more
- Theologian: The future of the church is local
  
  In Europe, the number of church members is declining – but Christianity remains strong worldwide. However, the structures do not remain stable, but are constantly changing. Thomas Schlag is Professor of Practical Theology at the University of Zurich, where he Read more
- The perils and necessities of saying ‘I don’t know’
  
  When I was studying political science in graduate school, I was surrounded by students who were much smarter than me. Most of my fellow students at the University of California Berkeley went to Ivy League schools as undergraduates. They were Read more
- Survey: New priests are young and involved in their community
  
  The incoming class of seminarians who will be ordained in 2024 is young and involved in their community, an annual survey released April 15 found. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops commissioned the Center for Applied Research (CARA) at Georgetown Read more

Search CathNews

Search for:
CathNews
is free

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:
Great Reads