Our Interviews on the Church and sex abuse

An Irish Catholic Responds
(13 Apr 10 – RV) An interview with the editor of The Irish Catholic, Garry O’Sullivan, on reaction to the Holy Fathers Pastoral Letter to the Catholics of Ireland:
 
Archbishop Wuerl on US Church Response to Child Sex Abuse
(10 Apr 10 - RV) The Church’s handling of clerical sexual abuse of minors has returned to the forefront of world attention in recent weeks, with many decades-old cases receiving new and intense media scrutiny. We spoke with the Archbishop of Washington, DC, Donald Wuerl, about the US bishops’ ongoing response to the crisis

 

 
Bishops of Malta on 11 years of Safeguarding Children in the Church
(08 Apr 10 - RV) The bishops of Malta and Gozo in a joint statement this morning about the child abuse controversy involving the Church, expressed their 'grave sorrow and repentance towards all those who have been abused, or hurt by members of the Church. Their statement comes one week from Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the Mediterranean island nation.


 
Cardinal George Praises Pope Benedict's Leadership
(01 Apr 10 - RV) The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued a statement voicing concern for the victims of the sin and crime Clerical Sexual Abuse. The Bishops’ also praised Pope Benedict’s leadership in assisting them in their efforts to deal with perpetrators and respond to victims. The communiqué was issued by the President of the USCCB Cardinal Francis George of Chicago. Cardinal George said it was Pope Benedict that gave the US Bishops the "ability to handle this crisis more quickly and in a way that helps to heal". He also added that the Pope "encouraged the Bishops to reach out to victims". We spoke to Cardinal George about the statement:




Setting the Record Straight: an interview with Murphy trial judge Fr. Thomas Brundage
(31 Mar 10 - RV) The judge who presided over the Church Court that was trying Fr. Lawrence Murphy on charges he abused deaf boys in the confessional, Fr. Thomas Brundage, has written an article in the archdiocesan newspaper of Anchorage, Alaska, where he is currently stationed. The article is critical of the New York Times’ reporting of the Fr Murphy case, and seeks to set the record straight. We spoke to Fr. Brundage about the trial.
 

 
Archbishop Nichols Praises Pope Benedict's Reforms of Vatican Procedures in Clerical Abuse Allegations
(27 Mar 10 -RV) Archbishop Vincent Nichols of the Diocese of Westminster in England has explained how extensive the then Cardinal Ratzinger’s reforms of Vatican procedures were after he took over responsibility for dealing with clerical sex abuse allegations in 2001. Writing in the British press the Archbishop said that Pope Benedict XVI was part of the solution, not the problem, in both his actions, as well as his words. We spoke to Archbishop Nichols about the lessons that have been learned in the UK in dealing with abuse of minors by clergy:


John Allen on Pope and Sexual Abuse Crisis
(27 Mar 10 - RV) A column published on Friday by noted National Catholic Reporter and CNN correspondent John Allen has taken the media to task for misconstruing several aspects of the Vatican’s response to the clerical sexual abuse crisis. We spoke to the Mr. Allen, and asked him about the media response:



Archbishop Martin Speaks About Crisis in Dublin
(20 Mar 10 – RV) Archbishop Diarmuid Martin speaks to us about the abuse scandal in the Archdiocese of Dublin, in the wake of the Murphy report