Pope Benedict XVI said he did not attempt to cover up child sexual abuse by Catholic priests.
The emeritus pope made the comments in an 11-page letter to prominent Italian atheist and math professor Piergiorgio Odifreddi.
Excerpts from the letter were published on Tuesday in the Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica with Pope Benedict’s permission.
The BBC reported that the pope’s statement “is thought to be the first time that Benedict has publicly rejected personal responsibility for covering up abuse.”
In his Aug. 30 letter, the 86-year-old Pope Benedict wrote:
“I never tried to cover up these things. That the power of evil penetrates to such a point in the interior world of the faith is, for us, a source of suffering.
“On the one hand we must accept that suffering, and on the other, at the same time, we must do everything possible so that such cases aren’t repeated.
“It’s also not a motive for comfort to know that, according to sociological research, the percentage of priests guilty of these crimes is no higher than in other comparable professional categories.
“In any event, one must not stubbornly present this deviance as if it were a nastiness specific to Catholicism.”
Sources
Image: The Independent
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