Pope to Irish: Child Abuse by Clergy Shook Faith
Pope Benedict XVI told Irish Catholics on Sunday it is a mystery why priests and other clergy abused children entrusted in their care, undermining faith in the church in an “appalling” way.
By calling the cause of the abuse — often over a period of decades — in Catholic parishes, schools and church-run institutions and parishes in predominantly Catholic Ireland a “mystery,” the pontiff could further anger rank-and-file faithful in Ireland.
Benedict commented on the scandals of sexual abuse and cover-ups by church hierarchy in a pre-recorded video message for the closing session of a week-long gathering in Dublin aimed at shoring up flagging faith, including obligatory Mass attendance.
The Eucharistic Congress, held by the Vatican every four years in a different part of the world, came against a backdrop of deep anger over child abuse cover-ups and surveys showing declining weekly Mass attendance in Ireland, where church and state were once tightly entwined.
Dublin Archbishop Diarmiud Martin has said the church in Ireland is facing a grave fight for survival.
“Your forbears in the church in Ireland knew how to strive for holiness and constancy in their personal lives,” Benedict said in his message.
In a reference to the Vatican’s insistence on Sunday Mass attendance, Benedict said that Catholic faith “is a legacy that is surely perfected and nourished” at Mass.
Yet, he said, “thankfulness and joy at such a great history of faith and love have recently been shaken in an appalling way by the revelation of sins committed by priests and consecrated persons against people entrusted to their care.”
