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Pope
Apologizes for Clergy Sex Abuse
in Australia
(Video)
 (AP) - Pope Benedict XVI used
some of
the strongest language yet in his apology Saturday for the sexual abuse
of children by Australia's Roman Catholic clergy, but his words were
just more of the same for the victims. The pope said he was "deeply
sorry" for the sexual abuse, delivering a strongly-worded apology that
described their acts as evil and a grave betrayal of trust. "I am
deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the victims have endured and I
assure them as their pastor that I too share in their suffering,"
Benedict said during an address at a Mass in Sydney. "Those responsible
for these evils must be brought to justice," he said.
The pope said the scandal had badly damaged the church.
"These misdeeds, which constitute so grave a betrayal of trust, deserve
unequivocal condemnation," he said. "They have caused great pain, they
have damaged the church's witness."
Anthony Foster, the father of two Australian girls who were allegedly
raped by a Catholic priest, said he was disappointed that the apology
repeated the church's expressions of regret but offered no practical
assistance for victims.
"What we haven't had is an unequivocal, unlimited practical response
that provides for all the victims for their lifetime," he said. "The
practical response needs to include both financial help ... and
psychological help."
Support groups for victims of church abuse in Australia, whose numbers
are not known but who activists say are in the thousands, say the
church covered up of the scale of the problem and fought compensation
claims lodged in civil courts.
"Sorry is not enough. Victims want action, not just words," the Broken
Rites group said in a post on its Web site.
Benedict has expressed regret before about the clergy abuse scandal
that has rocked the church in recent years — notably during a
visit to the United States in April when he also met privately with a
small number of victims.
But the language of Saturday's apology was stronger than the pope's
comments in the United States.
Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi said the pope added the words
that he was deeply sorry to the original text given to reporters
because he wanted to "personally underline" that he felt close to the
victims.
There was no immediate word whether Benedict would meet with victims
during his Australia trip, which ends Monday. Foster has said he wants
a meeting with the pontiff during the trip.
The pontiff is in Australia to lead hundreds of thousands of pilgrims
in the church's World Youth Day, a global celebration meant to inspire
a new generation of Catholics.
During his appearances in Australia, Benedict has spoken about the need
to strengthen traditional Christian values including charity and
chastity, and decried the selfishness and greed of today's "cult of
material possessions."
About 500 people protested against the Vatican's policies opposing
contraception, abortion and homosexuality, holding a contest for the
T-shirt that would most annoy Roman Catholics and chanting: "The pope
is wrong, put a condom on!"
The boisterous protest at a square in the city's center included
inflated condoms floating above the crowd and some participants dressed
as nuns and priests. There were speeches supporting sex education and
safe sex practices.
"It's good that people protest against the pope's homophobia and
misogyny," Alex Bainbridge of the Socialist Alliance told the crowd.
"We don't want a war against sex, we want a war against sexually
transmitted infections.
"We're here for the people who could be saved if they had adequate sex
education and access to condoms."
Police on horseback and on foot patrolled the protest. Police led away
a protester who had thrown condoms at pilgrims.
Papal apologies have been few in the church's long history, mostly
confined to correcting historical errors such as condemning Galileo for
maintaining that the Earth is not the center of the universe.
But Benedict also said he was "deeply sorry" regarding remarks on Islam
he made in Germany in 2006 that linked the religion to violence and set
off a fury across the Muslim world.
Some cardinals resisted Pope John Paul II's plan for a sweeping apology
timed for the new millennium in 2000. But he went ahead, asking
forgiveness for the sins of Catholics, including wrongs inflicted on
Jews, women and minorities.
Benedict will join tens of thousands of young Catholics for a couple of
hours later Saturday at an open-air vigil held at a horse race track in
Sydney.
The pope will lead a Mass on Sunday before a crowd estimated at more
than 200,000 that will mark the culmination of the World Youth Day
festival.
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