Statement by Catholic bishops of England and Wales

Statement by the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales
Press release Issued by the CBCEW

Child abuse in the Catholic Church has been such a focus of public attention recently, that we, the Bishops of England and Wales, wish to address this issue directly and unambiguously.

Catholics are members of a single universal body. These terrible crimes, and the inadequate response by some church leaders, grieve us all.

Our first thoughts are for all who have suffered from the horror of these crimes, which inflict such severe and lasting wounds. They are uppermost in our prayer. The distress we feel at what has happened is nothing in comparison with the suffering of those who have been abused.

The criminal offences committed by some priests and religious are a profound scandal. They bring deep shame to the whole church. But shame is not enough. The abuse of children is a grievous sin against God. Therefore we focus not on shame but on our sorrow for these sins. They are the personal sins of only a very few. But we are bound together in the Body of Christ and, therefore, their sins touch us all.

Posted on April 22, 2010 1:30 PM | |
Comments (5)

Better, but still missing the point that it is the cover up, looking the other way, refusing to speak up, and complicit acceptance by thousands of priests and bishops (and,. I presume lay leaders, although they have much less power in the RC church) that is the real sin.

The abusive priests would never have been able to do what they did without thousands turning a blind eye.

I have yet to see this properly addressed.

Posted by Dave Paisley [TypeKey Profile Page] | April 22, 2010 7:07 PM

Yes, Dave. Better. Betrayal falls under "inadequate response" only in an Orwellian sense.

I'm also concerned with this sentence: "Full co-operation with statutory bodies is essential." Because it doesn't say it means more than what the Vatican recently said (co-operate fully as in where required by civil authorities) it falls well short. That's lawyer talk. How about co-operate fully in spirit, not in just in letter?

Posted by John B. Chilton [TypeKey Profile Page] | April 22, 2010 8:07 PM

Words, words, words. Frankly I am tired of all these apologies. I'd like to see more justice and less talk. It's too bad they had to get caught to even acknowledge this sin. Perhaps it is time for penance and public penance at that, but not jut words.

Posted by Peter Pearson [TypeKey Profile Page] | April 22, 2010 10:28 PM

These bishops give no hint of questioning the Roman denomination's whole warped theology of human sexuality that is the root of this sick tree. Its present old auntie theology is anti-nature, anti-sex, anti-women and anti-gay.

Until Rome adopts a theology of human sexuality that is grounded in the love of Christ and human rationality, this tree is going to continue to bear very rotten fruit.

Posted by Paul Woodrum [TypeKey Profile Page] | April 23, 2010 10:45 AM

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