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March 27, 2002
In letter to priests, pope says clergy sex abusers betray priesthood
Scandals cast suspicion over priests who perform ministry with integrity, self-sacrifice
By John Thavis
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope John Paul II, responding to recent revelations of sexual abuse by clergy, said the perpetrators of such scandals have betrayed the priesthood and cast a "shadow of suspicion" over the many good priests in the world.
The pope said the Church was concerned for the victims of such abuse and wants to handle each case "in truth and justice." At the same time, he asked for prayers to reawaken the spiritual ideals of the priesthood.
The pope's words came at the end of a 19-page Holy Thursday letter to all priests, made public March 21.
At a press conference the same day to present the pope's text, Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos strongly defended the Church's handling of abuse cases, saying the Church has "never neglected the problem of sexual abuse, even before it ended up on the front pages of international newspapers."
Although the pope did not explicitly use the term "sex abuse" in his letter, Vatican officials said his language left no doubt that he was referring to recently divulged cases of alleged sexual misconduct by priests and bishops. Most of the publicized cases have been in the United States, but allegations also have surfaced in France, Ireland, Poland and other countries.
"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' (mystery of evil) at work in the world," the pope said.
"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," he said.
"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' (mystery of the cross) and to commit ourselves more fully to the search for holiness," he said.
The pope said the Church needs to "beg God" for a "whole-hearted reawakening of those ideals of total self-giving to Christ," which he said were the foundation of the priestly ministry.
At the Vatican press conference, Cardinal Castrillon, who heads the Congregation for Clergy, listened and took notes as journalists asked more than a dozen questions about the Vatican's handling of sex abuse cases.
In response, the cardinal read a two-page prepared statement — interspersed with a few pointed asides — detailing past and present steps taken by the church to deal with the problem, most of them having to do with canon law.
Cardinal Castrillon prefaced his remarks by saying it was interesting to note that many of the journalists' questions were posed in English — a fact that he said "already says something about the problem and gives it an outline."
He said the problem of clerical sex abuse had developed in a culture of "pan-sexuality and sexual licentiousness." Paradoxically, he said, at the same time there also was developing a growing sensitivity to and rejection of pedophilia, with associated legal and economic penalties.
He said there were not yet any accurate statistics comparing the rates of sexual abuse of minors in various professions, such as doctors, teachers, journalists or politicians. But he cited a U.S. study which estimated that about 3 percent of American priests had "tendencies" toward such abuse, and that 0.3 percent were pedophiles.
"I would like to know the statistics from the other groups and the penalties the others have received and the money the others have paid to the victims," he said, departing from his prepared statement.
Cardinal Castrillon traced the history of Church sanctions, including suspension from the priestly ministry, for clerics who committed sexual abuse against minors. He noted that in 2001 the pope had strengthened the Vatican's role in handling such cases, reserving them to the authority of the Vatican's doctrinal congregation.
At the same time, he said, the Vatican lengthened the statute of limitations for such crimes to 10 years, a period that begins after an alleged victim's 18th birthday; it also raised the Church's legal definition of a minor from 16 to 18 in such cases.
The cardinal interrupted his prepared remarks to say: "I would like to see in what other legislation in the world this has been done."
He said the Church's norms, including its provisions of confidentiality, are aimed at avoiding a "culture of suspicion" when sex abuse accusations are made against clergy.
"The laws of the Church are serious and severe and have been drawn up in a tradition ... of dealing with internal matters in an internal way," Cardinal Castrillon said.
He emphasized that this does not mean the Church is trying to "avoid the provisions of civil law" in various countries, unless the matter involves the confessional seal or the principle of episcopal secrecy, which is invoked in rare circumstances of a bishop's ministry.
The cardinal said the Church expects its ministers to be treated like other citizens by civil authorities — without advantages, but without disadvantages, either.
Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said Cardinal Castrillon's comments could be considered an expression of the Church's position on the issue.
The pope's letter and the cardinal's statement were the Vatican's most extensive published comments on the issue since the trial of a Boston priest in January sparked a rash of revelations about past cases of clerical sex abuse in several U.S. dioceses.
In early March, Bishop Anthony J. O'Connell of Palm Beach resigned after admitting to sexual misconduct with a minor 25 years ago.
In Poland, Archbishop Juliusz Paetz of Poznan — who worked for years at the Vatican — was accused of sexual impropriety by seminarians; he has denied the accusations, but the Vatican is investigating.
In Ireland in January, the country's Conference of Religious agreed to pay $110 million to Irish children who were sexually abused in Church-run schools from 1940-70. More than 20 priests, brothers and nuns already have been convicted of abusing children.
Navarro-Valls told Catholic News Service that the pope has been informed fully about the developments in the sex abuse cases and is following them with attention and great sadness.
The Vatican has said little about the specific cases that recently have come to light. But sources said that, behind the scenes, Church officials have been making a serious review of the criteria used to admit candidates to the priesthood.
Cardinal Castrillon, asked for details on potential Vatican documents or policies for the future, had no comment. He also declined to comment on the issues of priestly celibacy and homosexuality, which some have seen as related to the question of sex abuse.
Last November, in a document on the Church in Oceania, the pope issued a Church apology to the victims of clerical sexual abuse. He said such cases had caused great suffering and represented "a profound contradiction of the teaching and witness of Jesus Christ."
At that time the pope said the Church wants open and just procedures to deal with sexual abuse complaints and is "unequivocally" committed to compassionate care for the victims and their families.
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