[RaceBannon]

here is the link

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A9226-2003Oct10?language=printer

[walrus954]

While I am a strong supporter of the Pope, I think that any time something like this happens and is covered up, it is not "overstated." The Vatican should be leading the charge to investigate this tragedy and punish those responsible.

[tubavil]

The coverup continues. Sickening.

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

"Sodano...is second only to the Pope in the Vatican hierarchy"

"It is fair to condemn evil, but one must keep it in proportion," said Sodano

Asked if there might have been a plot to discredit the Church, he said: "We don't have evidence of this but I know that many people have thought this."

It seems to me that there might be evidence to discredit the Pope. Every time the "Vatican" speaks, it is not necessarily the Pope, but more likely his underlings, who, by their own short-sightedness [I'm being generous here], end up smearing the Pope. This is VERY unfortunate.

They have to know that, as representatives of the Vatican, what THEY say can be misinterpreted as having been said by the Pope.

[codder too]

Add two more last week. One in Falmouth Mass (Woodshole) and one in Mount Union Pa.

[richmwill]

This response by the Vatican seems to be saying, in my opinion, that "This scandal wasn't that big of a deal". Well, I would suggest to try telling that to any young person who was molested by a priest/cardinal. If you believe this scandal was "overstated"- look into the eyes of any person who was a victim of a molesting priest, and say to them "Well, I don't think it was that big of a deal". Would ANYONE really have the nerve to say that? I would certainly hope not. And other people who have posted on this topic have it right, in my opinion- even worse than what happened to these young men was what happened afterwards- some reported it to maybe another priest, maybe a cardinal- and they were sometimes told, in essence, "Shhh- Ok- Don't tell anybody else. It can damage the parish's reputation in the community. Keep quiet, and we'll take care of it". And how did they "take care of it"? By sending the molesting priest to another church, so he can prey on more young people. I realize that not all priests are guilty of these horrible crimes. As someone who was raised Catholic, I know that there are many priests who are very good people, who do care about the Church, their parish, and the community. God Bless those fine men for what they do. But also- may God have mercy on the pitiful soul of any priest who preys on the most innocent of God's creations.

Rich

[biblewonk]

Vatican: U.S. Catholic Sex Scandal Was Overstated

Yeah, instances of child molestation was really only 10 percent higher than in Arkansas trailer courts.

[Aquinasfan]

Now that we have some distance from the events, it's apparent that the scandal was overblown. For those who say that "one abused child is too many" I ask the following question, where is the coverage of child abuse in other denominations, public schools, private schools and summer camp?

The unusual characteristic of this scandal was the bishops' (or bishop's) complicity in shuffling around abusive priests. As far as I know, this behavior was limited to Cardinal Law and maybe a handful of other bishops.

The greatest scandal is that homosexual candidates are being admitted to seminaries and that orthodox candidates are being weeded out.