Although Benedict expresses regret that abuse happened on his watch, he does not take responsibility for any specific cases, and his lawyers maintain his innocence.
Sexual Abuse
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Pope Francis sends Pope Benedict ‘a beautiful letter’ showing ‘full support,’ former pope’s secretary says
In the letter, Pope Francis “speaks as a shepherd, as a brother” and “expressed once again his complete trust, his full support and also his prayers,” said the secretary, Archbishop Georg Gänswein.
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Former priest serving life sentence for sexual exploitation dies in prison
Robert McWilliams, 41, was found unresponsive early Feb. 4, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said. It is believed that he died by suicide.
Posted inFaith, Speeches
Read: Pope Benedict XVI’s penitential letter on Munich sexual abuse report
“Each individual case of sexual abuse is appalling and irreparable,” Pope Benedict wrote. “The victims of sexual abuse have my deepest sympathy, and I feel great sorrow for each individual case.”
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Pope Benedict asks for forgiveness in a ‘confession’ responding to Munich sex abuse report
Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has written a “mea culpa” in which he asks forgiveness for “the abuses and the errors” that occurred when he held different positions of great responsibility in the church.
Posted inFaith, Podcasts
Podcast: How Benedict XVI should respond to the German abuse report
This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell discuss Gerry’s interview with Hans Zollner, S.J., a leading abuse prevention expert based at the Vatican.
Posted inFaith, Vatican Dispatch
Father Hans Zollner on the German sex abuse report, Pope Benedict and the future of the church
Father Zollner is the president of the Pontifical Gregorian University’s Center for Child Protection. He has been one of the few people in Rome willing to speak on the record about the Munich report.
Posted inDispatches, Faith
A bombshell report on sex abuse left France ‘flabbergasted.’ Yet most French Catholics still believe there is hope for reform
The report landed on French Catholics like a bomb. French bishops had never considered sexual abuse a serious problem. “We have been in denial for 20 years,” Father Goujon said. “The bishops said that [that kind of abuse] could never happen here.”
Posted inNews, Politics & Society
Pope Benedict likely won’t be punished for his handling of sex abuse. But his record can point the way forward.
A report released last week alleges that former Pope Benedict XVI allowed four abusive priests in Munich to remain in ministry. This episode is an opportunity to understand the church’s fitful evolution on dealing with abuse.
Posted inFaith, Podcasts
Podcast: What you need to know about Pope Benedict’s record on sexual abuse
This week on “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican reporter Gerard O’Connell explain what we know so far about the four cases Pope Emeritus Benedict was implicated in.