in his blog today, Sandro Magister draws a blunt conclusion from recent news reports - an interview given to Canadian Catholic News by Cardinal Marc Ouellet, an interview given to FoxNews by Mons. Charles Scicluna at the CDF, and the editorial judgment of Vatican Radio, under Fr. Lombardi's direction, compared to that of L'Osservatore Romano.
The Pope's 3-man team
in the war on pedophilia
Translated from
August 24, 2010
L'Osservatore Romano reported not a single line of the interview that Mons. Charles Scicluna, chief 'prosecutor' at the CDF, gave to Fox News on Monday.
On the other hand, Vatican Radio, under the direction of Fr. Federico Lombardi
[long before he was also named Vatican press director], reported ample parts of it, which included many statements that had not previously been made.
"I was a direct witness of what Cardinal Ratzinger did between 2002-2005 when he reviewed hundreds of cases of sexual abuse by priests. I was a direct witness of the piety, the sense of frustration and anger that these cases aroused in the cardinal - the man who became Benedict XVI on April 19, 2005.
"I can say that on May 6, 2005, not long after his election, met with Mons. Angelo Amato, who was then still the secretary of the CDF (there was no prefect yet, as Mons. Levada would not be appointed until later). The new Pope reviewed with him the decisions that John Paul II had made on some of the sexual abuse cases and he said, "I confirm them'. Since 2003, he himself had asked John Paul II to give priority to these cases. And now, these were aong the first decisions he confirmed as Pope.
[After Mons. Levada was named], Benedict XVI met with him to verify the most serious cases that required priority attention. The Pope always studied the most serious cases with great care and attention."
[I have added to the original post from FoxNews earlier on this page a re-translation of other parts of Mons. Scicluna's interview as reported in the Italian service of Vatican Radio.]
The interview also included a lien that is crucial for understanding the viewpoint of Benedict XVI and Mons. Scicluna about the scandals:
"People call this a crisis - it is certainly a challenge to the Church, but it is an opportunity. It is an opportunity to call sin sin in its face, and do something about it. It is an opportunity for the church to show itself determined in its fight against sin, against crime.”
It's the same concept expressed recently by Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, called to Rome recently by Benedict XVI to be the new Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
He said he shared Pope Benedict XVI’s view that the focus on the sins of priests during the Year for Priests gives the Church “an opportunity for purification.”
Like Benedict XVi, he is convinced that "the sins committed by some priests came to light during the Year for Priests",, adding that "after the Church goes through her purification, the community of the faithful will help the rest of humanity to face this horrific problem".
Judging therefore from what has been said and done by the Curia in the past few months regarding the issue of pedophile priests, it is evident that there are three on whom Benedict XVI can count on most - because they understand him best - Fr. Lombardi, Mons. Scicluna, and the new man in the Curia, Cardinal Ouellet.
In fairness, I would include Cardinal Levada, who, with Mons. Scicluna, is carrying on the work begun by Cardinal Ratzinger on the abuse cases (and who did come to the Pope's defense over the Milwaukee case - a defense that was promptly included in the Resources webpage on the Church response to the sex abuse problem); and Cardinal Hummes and his #2 man at the Congregation for the Clergy, who issued urgent and relevant messages to the world's priests during the Year for Priests in full support of Benedict XVI.
And I am glad Magister underscores my running reproach of OR's serious lapses in editorial judgment...
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 25/08/2010 10:46]