In an obvious reference to the wave of paedophilia and sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church, both worldwide and most recently in the US, Pope John Paul II yesterday expressed his sense of hurt and pain caused by the involvement of priests in what he called "the most grievous form" of evil.
The Pope made his comments at the end of his annual letter to priests, a 22-page document written in preparation for Holy Week.
Although most of the letter is devoted to theological issues, inevitably most attention will focus on the third last paragraph which reads: "At this time too, as priests we are personally and profoundly afflicted by 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 iniquitatis [the mystery of evil] at work in the world. Grave scandal is caused, with the 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. As the Church shows her concern for the victims and strives to respond in truth and justice to each of these painful situations, all of us - conscious of human weakness, but trusting in the healing power of divine grace - are called to embrace the 'mysterium Crucis' and to commit ourselves more fully to the search for holiness. We must beg God in his providence to prompt a wholehearted reawakening of those ideals of total self-giving to Christ which are the very foundation of the priestly ministry."
Although the word paedophilia is not mentioned, Vatican sources yesterday suggested the paragraph was a response to demands that the Pope speak out against sexual scandals afflicting the Church worldwide, which have become both embarrassingly public and painfully expensive, most recently in the US.
On Monday, the FBI announced two priests were among more than 40 people arrested in an investigation into child pornography on the Internet. Last week, the Vatican accepted the resignation of a US Bishop in Florida, who admitted to molesting a teenage boy more than 25 years ago.
In Boston, 86 plaintiffs are currently suing the Catholic Archdiocese over sex abuse allegations made against John Geoghan, a defrocked priest convicted last month on charges of fondling a 10-year-old boy. Those cases may cost the Archdiocese up to $30 million dollars. In addition, they have severely damaged the credibility of Boston Cardinal Bernard Law, accused of shuttling Geoghan from parish to parish even though he knew of his history of sexual abuse of children.
On Wednesday, President George Bush, in a comment on the scandal in the US, said he was sure the Church "would clean up its business and do the right thing".
Speaking at a Vatican news conference yesterday at which the Pope's letter was released, Colombian Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, Prefect of the Congregation of the Clergy, said: "With regard to the problem of sexual abuse and paedophilia, let me give you one single answer. In the climate of pan-sexuality and sexual licentiousness that has been created in today's world, some priests, men who come out of this culture, have committed the grave crime of sexual abuse.
"I just want to say . . . reliable comparative statistics re other professions are not available. From what we know, from a study by Prof Philip Jenkins of Pennsylvania University, it seems 3 per cent of American priests have a tendency towards sexual abuse of minors, while 0.3 per cent are paedophiles."