Pope Apologises for Sexual Abuse By Clergy in Australia
Benedict XVI 'deeply sorry' for pain and suffering and calls for perpetrators to be brought to justice
Pope Benedict XVI today said he was deeply sorry for the suffering caused to victims of sexual abuse by clergy in Australia and perpetrators should be brought to justice.
The Pope said he wanted to acknowledge the "shame that we have all felt as result of the sexual abuse of minors by some clergy" in Australia.
He said the deeds of clergy responsible for abuse were a grave betrayal of trust that had caused great pain, had damaged the Roman Catholic church, and deserved unequivocal condemnation.
"I am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the victims have endured," he said. "These misdeeds, which constitute so grave a betrayal of trust, deserve unequivocal condemnation. Those responsible for these evils must be brought to justice."
The Pope was speaking at a Mass attended by Australia's Roman Catholic bishops and seminarians.
Support groups for victims of church abuse in Australia, whose numbers are not known but who activists say are in the thousands, have demanded the pope make a full and open apology for clergy abuse and do more to prevent abuse in the future.
The Pope said he wanted to acknowledge the "shame that we have all felt as result of the sexual abuse of minors by some clergy" in Australia.
He said the deeds of clergy responsible for abuse were a grave betrayal of trust that had caused great pain, had damaged the Roman Catholic church, and deserved unequivocal condemnation.
"I am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the victims have endured," he said. "These misdeeds, which constitute so grave a betrayal of trust, deserve unequivocal condemnation. Those responsible for these evils must be brought to justice."
The Pope was speaking at a Mass attended by Australia's Roman Catholic bishops and seminarians.
Support groups for victims of church abuse in Australia, whose numbers are not known but who activists say are in the thousands, have demanded the pope make a full and open apology for clergy abuse and do more to prevent abuse in the future.
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