SHAME NOT ENOUGH

UNLESS his plans are changed Pope Benedict XVI will visit England and Wales in just five months from now. Until this week there have been real fears that his visit might have to be cancelled or curtailed to avoid protests against child abuse in the Roman Catholic Church and the Vatican's failure to understand the feelings of betrayal and despair at its inadequate responses to the crisis. Fortunately, two positive developments have taken place this week. Firstly, in his weekly public audience in St Peter's Square the Pope spoke movingly about his meeting in Malta with victims of abuse in a church-run orphanage and said that the Church would do “everything in its power to take effective measures to protect children”. Although this statement lacked specificity it showed that the Pope is fully aware of what needs to be done.

Secondly, in Leeds this week, a conference of Bishops from England and Wales heard the Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent NIchols, speak on their behalf of the “profound scandal” of the child abuse cases and say: “They bring deep shame to the whole Church. But shame is not enough. The abuse of children is a grievous sin against God...There can be no excuses.” Measures taken against child abuse in the Catholic Church in England and Wales during the past decade are widely considered to be a model of their kind and the Vatican should consider endorsing them for wider use.