Urgen a Benedicto XVI a que dedique sus últimos días de papado a proporcionar justicia para las víctimas de abusos sexuales por parte de miembros de la iglesia
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unfortunately, the legacy that Pope Benedict left for us, one with words but not action.
I mean, something simple like today, and in these last two weeks, we would even encourage
Pope Benedict to use these last days of his reign in a way that could protect children.
For example, if Pope Benedict were to encourage all bishops across the globe to do what about
30 bishops in the U.S. have done, which is to post on their websites the identities of
all the credibly accused priests from that diocese. If Pope Benedict would encourage
that, that would immediately make children safer, because then parents and teachers would
know to keep the children away from those men. Or if he were to encourage every bishop
in the world to turn over any evidence they have of sex crimes to police, that could go
a long way. If he were to punish any bishop or church official who has enabled or covered
up for a predator, or if he would give a reward to a whistleblower, those are actions that
we believe would show that children’s safety is important. And unfortunately, Pope Benedict
hasn’t taken any real concrete action. He has just made nice statements and given us
words. As early as 2005, then-Cardinal Ratzinger,
who is the pope today, obliquely referred to priestly abuse in meditations he wrote
for the Way of the Cross on Good Friday. He wrote, quote, "How much filth there is in
the Church, and even among those who, in the priesthood, ought to belong entirely to Him!"
Finally, Sister Campbell, where—what you think the pope could do on this issue before he leaves?
Well, I think that the most important thing
that he could do is try to respond in a pastoral way, finally, and to really, as Barbara says,
do specific actions that would protect children. And I think the challenge here is that Pope
Benedict has always been an academic, has always been in Vatican offices, and really
has never walked with people who suffer. He has the academic approach regarding economics,
and he doesn’t know what it is to live in poverty. He has the academic approach of what
children have suffered. He needs to really, I would hope, in these last two weeks, maybe
extend himself pastorally and say that for the sake of all of God’s children, that
there needs to be protections, and that all Catholics need to respond in a way that supports
children, supports families, and prevents abuse in the future
and prevents the exploitation of poor people in our nation and in our world.
Those are two issues that he could take a step on.