Abuse Scandal a Problem for Society, says Vatican Spokes Person

(March 10, 2010) The sexual abuse of minors by authorities in the Church is "particularly reprehensible," a Vatican spokesman affirmed. But he cautioned against seeing the problem as only a Church issue, since the reality of abuse "is much broader" and extends to society as a whole. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of Vatican Radio, released Tuesday a statement about the reports of sexual abuse in the Church that continue to come to light. The latest scandal has particularly embroiled Germany since there has been a report of sexual abuse in the boys' choir that would later be directed by the Pope's brother, Monsignor Georg Ratzinger. Father Lombardi noted that the Holy Father has already been involved in dealing with the scandal that arose some months ago in Ireland. Now, Father Lombardi observed, the scandal has involved the Church in central Europe, including Austria and Holland, as well as Germany. He said they have "demonstrated their desire for transparency and, in a certain sense, accelerated the emergence of the problem by inviting victims to speak out, even when the cases involved date from many years ago." Father Lombardi said this was approaching the matter "on the right foot," since the "correct starting point is recognition of what happened and concern for the victims and the consequences of the acts committed against them." The Church has also been re-examining its directives and is identifying a "prevention strategy, so that everything possible may be done to ensure that similar cases are not repeated in the future," he added. Meantime a top Catholic prelate in Germany Karl Juesten, the liaison between Catholic bishops and the German government, said Wednesday that an apology forwarded by Rev. Georg Ratzinger is an act of courage. Ratzinger, the older brother of Pope Benedict XVI, said that he knew of allegations of physical abuse at an elementary school and apologized for doing nothing about it. But Ratzinger says he was unaware of allegations of sexual abuse at the Regensburger Domspatzen boys’ choir before he led it.