Pope 'led cover-up of child abuse by priests' – London Evening Standard – standard.co.uk - KIDS ARE BEING HURT !!!

"Kids Are Being Hurt !!!"

The Pope played a leading role in a systematic cover-up of child sex abuse by Roman Catholic priests, according to a shocking documentary to be screened by the BBC tonight.

In 2001, while he was a cardinal, he issued a secret Vatican edict to Catholic bishops all over the world, instructing them to put the Church's interests ahead of child safety.

The document recommended that rather than reporting sexual abuse to the relevant legal authorities, bishops should encourage the victim, witnesses and perpetrator not to talk about it. And, to keep victims quiet, it threatened that if they repeat the allegations they would be excommunicated. Photo

The Panorama special, Sex Crimes And The Vatican, investigates the details of this little-known document for the first time. The programme also accuses the Catholic Church of knowingly harbouring paedophile clergymen. It reveals that priests accused of child abuse are generally not struck off or arrested but simply moved to another parish, often to reoffend. It gives examples of hush funds being used to silence the victims.

Before being elected as Pope Benedict XVI in April last year, the pontiff was Cardinal Thomas Ratzinger who had, for 24 years, been the head of the powerful Congregation of the Doctrine of The Faith, the department of the Roman Catholic Church charged with promoting Catholic teachings on morals and matters of faith. An arch-Conservative, he was regarded as the 'enforcer' of Pope John Paul II in cracking down on liberal challenges to traditional Catholic teachings.

Five years ago he sent out an updated version of the notorious 1962 Vatican document Crimen Sollicitationis - Latin for The Crime of Solicitation - which laid down the Vatican's strict instructions on covering up sexual scandal. It was regarded as so secret that it came with instructions that bishops had to keep it locked in a safe at all times.

Cardinal Ratzinger [Benedict XVI] reinforced the strict cover-up policy by introducing a new principle: that the Vatican must have what it calls Exclusive Competence. In other words, he commanded that all child abuse allegations should be dealt with direct by Rome.

Patrick Wall, a former Vatican-approved enforcer of the Crimen Sollicitationis in America, tells the programme: "I found out I wasn't working for a holy institution, but an institution that was wholly concentrated on protecting itself."

And Father Tom Doyle, a Vatican lawyer until he was sacked for criticising the church's handling of child abuse claims, says:

What you have here is an explicit written policy to cover up cases of child sexual abuse by the clergy and to punish those who would call attention to these crimes by the churchmen.

"When abusive priests are discovered, the response has been not to investigate and prosecute but to move them from one place to another. So there's total disregard for the victims and for the fact that you are going to have a whole new crop of victims in the next place. This is happening all over the world."

Read complete article - London Evening Standard – standard.co.uk

"Kids Are Being Hurt !!!"

Related links:

Irish Catholic Church Covered Up Decades Of Child Abuse, Report Says – Huffington Post

Time for the faithful to choose our own bishops - VINCENT TWOMEY – The Irish Times

Bishop Donal Murray: Q&A – BBC News

Priests, police hid years of child sex abuse – ABC Online

A legacy of abuse and cover-up – Irish Times

Irish cleric calls for expulsion of the papal nuncio – BBC News

Pope to meet bishops over sex abuse report – UPI.com

Dublin child abuse report published – BBC News

Pope Benedict faces demand to dismiss Irish bishops in child abuse scandal – guardian.co.uk

Vatican 'ashamed' of Irish abuse report – BBC News

Scores seek help after abuse report – Washington Post

Vatican Scapegoats Gays and Leaves Criminals Unaccountable -Human Rights Campaign- September 15, 2002

Shifting the blame: the Vatican's campaign to purge gay men from Catholic seminaries is an attempt to shift the blame for the sexual abuse scandal away from the bishops - 2006

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US Catholic Bishops threaten the moral 'fabric of society' and the sanctity Gay unions – 2009

Report: Homosexuality No Factor in Abusive Priests - By RACHEL ZOLL - ABC News – 2009

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"Kids Are Being Hurt !!!"