The Washington Post - Reuters April 17, 2010
John Paul backed praise for hiding abuse: Cardinal
By Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - A former Vatican cardinal who congratulated a French bishop for hiding a sexually abusive priest has said he acted with the approval of the late Pope John Paul, a Spanish newspaper reported on Saturday.
Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, the Vatican official in charge of priests around the world when he praised the French bishop in 2001, dragged the Polish pope into the controversy during a conference in the Spanish city of Murcia.
His comment came after a Vatican spokesman indirectly confirmed that a 2001 letter to the bishop posted on a French website on Thursday was authentic and was proof the Vatican was right to tighten up its procedures on sex abuse cases that year.
By invoking John Paul, Castrillon Hoyos appeared to up the ante in a subtle Vatican power struggle over who was to blame for past failures to deal effectively with the abuse cases whose revelations in recent months have shaken the Church.
"After consulting the pope ... I wrote a letter to the bishop congratulating him as a model of a father who does not hand over his sons," the daily La Verdad quoted Castrillon Hoyos as telling the conference on Friday, to a round of applause from the assembled prelates, priests and lay people.
"The Holy Father authorized me to send this letter to all bishops in the world and publish it on the internet."
CARDINAL CLAIMS NO COVER UP
Castrillon Hoyos, a Colombian who retired from Vatican service last year, argued on CNN's Spanish-language television last week that temporarily suspending abusive priests and then quietly reassigning them elsewhere was not a cover-up.
Castrillon Hoyos's letter, written in French in 2001, praised Bishop Pierre Pican of Bayeux-Lisieux for not denouncing a French priest who was later sentenced to 18 years in jail for the repeated rape of a boy and sexual assaults on 10 others.
Pican, who received a suspended three-month jail sentence for not denouncing sexual abuse of minors, admitted in court he had kept Rev. Rene Bissey in parish work despite the fact the priest had privately admitted committing pedophile acts.
The case shocked France and prompted its bishops to declare that all abuse cases must be reported to civil authorities.
"I congratulate you for not denouncing a priest to the civil administration," Castrillon Hoyos wrote in his letter to Pican.
At the Murcia conference, the cardinal said that Pican did not denounce Bissey because the priest had told sins in the confessional, where secrecy is respected under the law.
At his trial, Pican said Bissey admitted his abuse in a private conversation, which would not enjoy legal protection.
This article was found at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/17/AR2010041702066.html
RELATED ARTICLES ON THIS BLOG
Bishops were warned of abusive priests as early as the mid-1950s
1963
letter by church expert on pedophile priests shows Pope Paul VI and
Vatican officials ignored warnings to expel problem priests
As Vatican cardinal defends pope and church, African bishop says sex crimes of priests there not yet exposed
Italian priest in diocese of Cardinal assisting Pope on child protection reforms arrested on pedophilia and drug charges
Credibility of US bishops' reformed child protection policies challenged by Philadelphia clergy abuse scandal
Jesuit priest being considered for sainthood among order's leaders who protected "the Hannibal Lecter of the clerical world"
Jesuit leaders concealed 40 years of warnings about pedophile priest who became spiritual adviser to Mother Teresa
New Vatican rules rely on Bishops to deal with clergy crimes before reporting to police, still don't protect children
New rules on clergy sex abuse shows there is still no moral awakening in the Catholic church
Calgary Bishop rejects criticism of Vatican reforms, says child protection protocols will work in his diocese
US bishop's report on clergy abuse puts focus on sociological factors instead of church leaders who covered up crimes
Inquiry finds US Catholic hierarchy still endangering children and fighting justice for clergy abuse survivors
Catholic theologian says secrecy, misogyny and resistance to reform in wake of clergy sex scandals will doom the church
Retired Archbishop blames protective church hierarchy for clergy abuse scandal
Australian Archbishop says church culture responsible for deep-rooted child abuse crimes and cover-ups
Former Benedictine monk says church has not yet addressed child abuse crisis, most bishops still mired in obfuscation and deceit
Is the Catholic church in state of denial over clergy abuse, or is it honest and transparent?
Hundreds of admitted or credibly accused pedophile priests who escaped justice are unsupervised by church or police
Dublin Archbishop admits frustration over failed effort to promote major reforms in Catholic Church
No comments:
Post a Comment