And these bananas -- Flambers Drugstore Archives

[ Show ]

Support VoyForums

[ Shrink ]

VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, [2], 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 09:44:01 05/05/02 Sun
Author: Todd
Subject: And these bananas

must be for you, Rita.Pope responds to sex abuse cases
March 22, 2002 Posted: 10:32 PM EST (0332 GMT)

The pope has issued guidelines requiring bishops to report sexual misconduct to the Vatican

By CNN's Rome Bureau Chief Alessio Vinci

VATICAN CITY, Italy (CNN) -- Pope John Paul II has sent a 22-page letter to priests around the world in which he briefly alludes to the current sexual abuse scandals plaguing the Catholic Church, many in the United States.

The letter, released on Thursday, is not a direct response to the scandals, but is part of an annual paper the pope writes in preparation for the Easter Holy week -- this year entitled "The letter of the Holy Father, John Paul II to the priests for the Holy Thursday 2002."

At the end of the letter, the pope writes: "At this time we are personally and profoundly afflicted of the sins of some of our brothers who have betrayed the grace of ordination in succumbing even to the most grievous forms of the mysterium inequitatis (the mystery of evil) at work in the world.

"Great scandal is caused as a result that a dark shadow of suspicion is cast over all the other fine priests who perform their ministry with honesty and integrity and often with heroic self sacrifice."

The letter continues: "As the church shows concern for the victims and strives to respond in truth and justice to these painful situations, all of us conscious of human weakness, but trusting in the healing power of the divine grace, are called to embrace the mysterium crucis (mystery of the cross or of faith) and commit ourselves more fully to the search of holiness."

By this, as well as saying that he is concerned about the growing scandals of sexual abuse, the pope is calling on the outside not to generalise and cast the whole Catholic Church in a negative light.

In a news conference on Thursday, Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos -- responsible for communications between the Vatican and Catholic clergy around world -- read a two-page statement reiterating the church's position condemning paedophilia.

Hoyos also expressed its deepest concern, but also said it was important to put the matter in some perspective.

In the United States, reports of priests who have molested children have mounted and the church has paid out millions of dollars to settle many of the cases.

On Monday, the FBI announced that two priests were among more than 40 people arrested as part of major investigation into child pornography on the Internet.

Last week, the Vatican accepted the resignation of a U.S. bishop in Florida who offered to step down after admitting to molesting a teenage boy more than 25 years ago.

And in Massachusetts, 86 plaintiffs are suing the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston over sex abuse allegations against John Geoghan, a defrocked priest convicted last month on charges of fondling a 10-year-old boy a decade ago.

The problem is not confined to the United States. There are two cases against Catholic clergymen in France and Poland, according to the National Catholic Reporter.

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]