BBC: Pope orders talks on US sex scandals

BBC.com/Americas ^ | 15/04/02

[history_matters]

Pope orders talks on US sex scandals

The Pope has spoken out against "evil" abusers

Pope John Paul II has summoned leaders of the Roman Catholic church in the United States to the Vatican to discuss recent disclosures of sex scandals, which have rocked the church.

The Vatican says the meeting with American cardinals will probably take place next week.

Demonstrators have been calling for Archbishop Law to go

The Archbishops of New York and Boston - traditionally the two most important posts in the Catholic church in the US - have been under pressure to resign because of their alleged role in covering up cases of abuse involving priests.

The Archbishop of Milwaukee has also been accused of suppressing information about cases of alleged abuse.

The Catholic Church has also faced similar allegations in a number of other countries.

The Pope last month made his first public denunciation of guilty priests.

Time for action

Boston Archbishop Cardinal Bernard Law, 70, has been at the epicentre of a scandal in which he is accused of knowing that a few priests in his archdiocese were serial child molesters, but he did not discipline them - he simply moved them from parish to parish where they preyed on new victims.

The affair is similar to problems in St Louis, Florida, California, Philadelphia and Detroit.

Our correspondent says it has severely undermined the credibility of the church and clearly the Vatican now believes it has to take action.

Cardinal Law did not turn up to mass at his cathedral on Sunday because there were protesters outside the cathedral and he thought they would disrupt the service.

Heavy criticism

Across the whole country, 3,000 priests face allegations of child abuse.

Archbishop Bernard Law: Under pressure

Cardinal Law has been heavily criticised since former priest John Geoghan was convicted of child molesting.

He has acknowledged that he transferred Geoghan to another parish despite knowing of sexual misconduct allegations against the now-defrocked Boston priest.

Geoghan is believed to have abused more than 100 people over a 20-year period.

The scandals are also a huge financial burden for the church. They have settled out of court in many instances and the cost of that has been more than $1bn.

There is talk that some archdioceses will be bankrupted by the scandals.

Commentators suspect that the Pope will have to get rid of a layer of the Catholic hierarchy, starting with Cardinal Law.

[Malcolm]

Not to be contrary, but I do not believe that the Catholic Church is the exclusive Church. Never will.

[AmishDude]

I figured as much, but I wasn't sure if they were required to learn it or some other "common" language in order to communicate with each other.

[Sola Sola]

You wrote:

I understand that you have major problems with some tenets of the Catholic Church...

And indeed your comment seems kind of foolish, now that you have had MINE removed. (#28)

My point was, simply, that it is the very PREMISE of the Roman Church that has invited the scandal which has now befallen it.

The responsibility is now YOURS for preventing other victims from seeing that.

An awesome responsibility, I would say.

Care to discuss it OPENLY?

[Domestic Church]

I just heard on foxnews cable that the authorities might be going to charge Cardinal Law...maybe he will now stay in Rome.

[Nubbin]

If the US bishops act true to form, they will listen politely while the Holy Father speaks, nod their heads, then go away and do whatever it was they intended to do in the first place.

Sigh...that is my fear.

It reminds me of the difference I noticed in how my teenage daughters reacted (as opposed to how I reacted to my parents) when told something they didn't want to hear. My daughters would listen to me patiently, and politely agree with everything I said, "Yes, m'am" and "no, m'am" they would say. Then they would proceed to ignore the directive and do whatever they wanted. They were smart, they knew I couldn't watch them 100% of the time. I, on the other hand, got whacked up side the head a number of times for "smart-mouthing" and arguing with my parents.

[Lady In Blue]

Thanks for the ping.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

Oh my. This could create some new and interesting possibilities. Will he pack his bags for a one-way trip and find a new job in the Vatican? I hope that if charges are brought he will be sent back to the US. It will create more problems if he is not.

[history_matters]

The Pope could imprison Law and others at the Vatican. I know others say that is an impossibility, but I somehow think it is more likely than his going to jail in America.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

That's an interesting thought. If he does, I hope he makes it very clear that's what he's doing so that detractors cannot accuse him of providing sanctuary for possible criminals.

[Domestic Church]

I have a gut feeling that the charges are a spin job...just turning the heat up a notch but then again, maybe not.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

I also hope that strong action comes out of this conference. It would put to rest rumors that he is incapable of leading the Church due to his physical condition.

[history_matters]

To write to the Pope, you can send your letters to:

His Holiness Pope John Paul II
The Apostolic Palace
La Santa Sede
00120 Vatican City
Europe

[Gophack]

Actually, I didn't have your post removed. I responded to it, as you can see above.

I have no problem discussing my religion openly. I believe that I responded to your major bone of contention -- that the Catholic Church has no authority. If you would like to refute my argument above, please do so and I will respond as best I can.

God bless.

[EODGUY]

I pray that our Holy Father, guided by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, will not only quickly implement a solution to the abhorrent crisis our Church faces due to the despicable behavior of a small percentage of our clergy, but also heal the victims of this assault, including devout Catholics who may be facing a faith crisis.

[Gophack]

You're not being contrary. I respect everyone's opinion, and enjoy friendly and courteous dialogue.

I didn't say that the Catholic Church was the exclusive church, just that it was the church established by Jesus Christ and has an unbroken line of succession from Peter down to Pope John Paul II. I suppose that could mean "exclusive", but I would prefer to use the word "inclusive" because all are welcome. Since "catholic" means "universal", I suppose that is the best description of the church.

God bless.

[fatima]

What makes you think that.

[Romulus]

			The Holy See His Excellency Gabriele Montalvo
					Gabriele Montalvo became ambassador of The Holy See to the United States on Jan. 21, 1999. Ambassador Montalvo was born in Colombia on Jan. 27, 1930, and ordained as a priest for the Archdiocese of Santafe de Bogota on Jan. 18, 1953. After receiving a doctorate in canon law at the Lateran University in Rome, he entered diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1957. From 1964 to 1974, he served as the secretariat of state in the section for Eastern European countries. In 1974, he was appointed apostolic nuncio to Nicaragua and Honduras. In 1982, he was chosen as a member of the papal mediation office for resolving the controversy between Argentina and Chile. Four years later, Montalvo was appointed apostolic pro-nuncio to Yugoslavia, a post he held for 10 years until 1996. On Dec. 7, 1999, Pope John Paul II appointed him apostolic nuncio to the United States.
		Embassy of The Holy See 3339 Massachusetts Ave., NW Washington, DC 20008 202-333-7121 fax 202-337-4036

Ambassador Profiles Home

[marajade]

Jesus and his disciples and my Church came BEFORE the scriptures

Really? How is that? Was it not the emperor of Rome, Constantine who wasn't even a Christian, at the time who convened the council at Nicea?