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Complete text of Pope Benedict's letter to Irish Catholic Church

POPE BENEDICT XVI,

Published Saturday, March 20, 2010, 2:10 PM

Updated Saturday, March 20, 2010, 2:30 PM

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10. To the priests and religious of Ireland

All of us are suffering as a result of the sins of our confreres who betrayed a sacred trust or failed to deal justly and responsibly with allegations of abuse. In view of the outrage and indignation which this has provoked, not only among the lay faithful but among yourselves and your religious communities, many of you feel personally discouraged, even abandoned. I am also aware that in some people’s eyes you are tainted by association, and viewed as if you were somehow responsible for the misdeeds of others. At this painful time, I want to acknowledge the dedication of your priestly and religious lives and apostolates, and I invite you to reaffirm your faith in Christ, your love of his Church and your confidence in the Gospel's promise of redemption, forgiveness and interior renewal. In this way, you will demonstrate for all to see that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more (cf. Rom 5:20).

I know that many of you are disappointed, bewildered and angered by the way these matters have been handled by some of your superiors. Yet, it is essential that you cooperate closely with those in authority and help to ensure that the measures adopted to respond to the crisis will be truly evangelical, just and effective. Above all, I urge you to become ever more clearly men and women of prayer, courageously following the path of conversion, purification and reconciliation. In this way, the Church in Ireland will draw new life and vitality from your witness to the Lord's redeeming power made visible in your lives.

11. To my brother bishops

It cannot be denied that some of you and your predecessors failed, at times grievously, to apply the long-established norms of canon law to the crime of child abuse. Serious mistakes were made in responding to allegations. I recognize how difficult it was to grasp the extent and complexity of the problem, to obtain reliable information and to make the right decisions in the light of conflicting expert advice. Nevertheless, it must be admitted that grave errors of judgement were made and failures of leadership occurred. All this has seriously undermined your credibility and effectiveness. I appreciate the efforts you have made to remedy past mistakes and to guarantee that they do not happen again. Besides fully implementing the norms of canon law in addressing cases of child abuse, continue to cooperate with the civil authorities in their area of competence. Clearly, religious superiors should do likewise. They too have taken part in recent discussions here in Rome with a view to establishing a clear and consistent approach to these matters. It is imperative that the child safety norms of the Church in Ireland be continually revised and updated and that they be applied fully and impartially in conformity with canon law.

Only decisive action carried out with complete honesty and transparency will restore the respect and good will of the Irish people towards the Church to which we have consecrated our lives. This must arise, first and foremost, from your own self-examination, inner purification and spiritual renewal. The Irish people rightly expect you to be men of God, to be holy, to live simply, to pursue personal conversion daily. For them, in the words of Saint Augustine, you are a bishop; yet with them you are called to be a follower of Christ (cf. Sermon 340, 1). I therefore exhort you to renew your sense of accountability before God, to grow in solidarity with your people and to deepen your pastoral concern for all the members of your flock. In particular, I ask you to be attentive to the spiritual and moral lives of each one of your priests. Set them an example by your own lives, be close to them, listen to their concerns, offer them encouragement at this difficult time and stir up the flame of their love for Christ and their commitment to the service of their brothers and sisters.

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Irishjule | Oct 21, 2010, 03:06 PM EDT

I think it was abominable for priests to abuse children/young adults and for the hierarchy to cover it up. I am in no way excusing them, but when the scandal broke out, my first thought was that the Church wanted to keep it secret because of all the unjust criticism that we get as Catholics.

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justhimself | Sep 22, 2010, 10:55 PM EDT

The cover up, when it was obvious the same complaints followed the abuser, some of those abusers actually were promoted to bishop level, and God only knows if pedophiles made it higher up. WE NEED A NEW REFORMED IRISH CATHOLIC CHURCH, WITH A NEW SET OF REVISED CANON LAWS.

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McNamara31 | Mar 22, 2010, 05:37 PM EDT

Allan500 Talk about blind faith...Before you make another response you should read the court testimony of how the church obstructed justice in Boston, and in Ireland. Yes the church was complicit with these crimes; they knowingly moved predator priests from town to town and from country to country. Do you know, that Pope Benedict as Prefect of the Doctrine of the faith oversaw all abuse cases and told the bishops these matters must be handled in secrecy? Why didn't he notify them loud and clear, to turn the abusing priests over to the authorities? Also, look up the testimony of Fr. Doyle, Canon lawyer who first was sent by the Vatican to investigate the abuse situation in America over 25 years and 2.5 billion dollars ago. You really sound like you are blaming the victim here. What if it were your son?

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allan500 | Mar 22, 2010, 01:01 PM EDT

McNamara31, The Church "supported" criminal activity? That is absurd. Individuals made mistakes in dealing with other individual's sins. The Vatican had nothing to do with abusing children. The Church as a body did not abuse children. There are individuals who attempted to keep the mess from tainting the Church. It was there duty and right to do so. They understood that the Church as a body was not the culprit, but the individual who acted wrongly. It is not as black and white as you think. When a person is accused of a crime, he is merely accused of a crime. There is a process that must be gone through to determine if the accusation is true. One can suspect that if the moral climate of Ireland had not been in such disarray, the Commandments would have been more closely followed by Church members--including its priests and nuns. There is a certain silliness in calling this "child abuse" as many if not most were well past the age of reason. I know very well that when I was 12 years old and had an anointed member of Christ's Church attempted to touch me improperly, I would have asked him what the hell he was doing. Why did that red alert not sound in the mind of these young people? The stock answer that they were bewildered by a figure of authority and lost all judgement is too ridiculous to contemplate. Perhaps a diet of pornography and the sight of immoral living around them had sullied their moral compass. Further, the current state of discussion does not even allow the question to be posed, are some of these "victims" merely money-hungry frauds? People ought to be grateful that the flaws of Church members have been exposed so that alterations can be made. The proper response of Catholics is to help the renovation, not lament the past with stupid demands that the pope's apology include this or that, and it be stated in a certain way of not. It is beyond the scope of reality to include every nuance of every circumstance in a public statement.

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McNamara31 | Mar 22, 2010, 11:24 AM EDT

They can write a million words and none will rings true without accountability. For those politically minded Vatican officials and clergy who decided and sided with the lawyers and against the children, this letter fails to address them, and the heart of this global atrocity.

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McNamara31 | Mar 22, 2010, 10:51 AM EDT

??? "In recent decades, however, the Church in your country has had to confront new and serious challenges to the faith arising from the rapid transformation and secularization of Irish society. Fast-paced social change has occurred, often adversely affecting people’s traditional adherence to Catholic teaching and values" What in the world does this have to do with the criminal activity that the church and Vatican supported for the past twenty five years? Child abusers are in all walks of life. The "grave" sin here is the Vatican enabled them.

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allan500 | Mar 22, 2010, 10:37 AM EDT

The pope is a man of God, and as such, he wrote a realistic letter based on the principles of sound moral doctrine. I see from your poll that most think he did what was needed, but still some are disappointed. The pope does not owe, nor could he give more than he gave in his letter. The pope's point about the collapse of Irish Catholicism ought to be carefully pondered. There is an old saying of the saints that priests are only as good as their flock. Each Catholic has an obligation to pray for the Church and its ministers. That has not taken place. Rather, while the Church offered moral direction the flock mocked it by its actions with the liberalization of abortion, widespread use of pornography, flippant divorce laws, and abysmal mass attendance. We now find the Irish more likely to be irreligious bigots than devote Catholics. Many, as can be read here, are more concerned with protecting their favorite sins than protecting the Church built upon the Rock of Christ. Need I say, hypocrites? The pope did not molest your children. It was those among you, who share your mired moral habits and who are a product of your cesspool standards, who did it. Purify your society and you will see holy priests emerge from your ranks. Pray for the pope. He has a daunting task at hand. Change the moral environment of your hearts, of your cities, towns and villages--then you will change those in the Church, who come from those same cities, towns and villages, who have gone astray.

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kickstar | Mar 21, 2010, 09:32 PM EDT

Return To Sender.

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Godscre | Mar 20, 2010, 06:51 PM EDT

Visit Voice of the Faithful's website and you will learn a lot.

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LeClara | Mar 20, 2010, 05:39 PM EDT

I think it is criminal for the Catholic church make it mandatory for priest and nuns to abstain from sexual intercourse and forbid marriage. I was under the impression that God promoted marriage so men and women wouldn't have to suffer physically. I am a victim/survivor of sexual molestation of a priest but after reaching adulthood I was able to forgive him because he was a man who had urges as any man does. I blame the church and their rules. I think this will continue to happen until the Catholic church changes it's rules regarding marriage of priest and nuns.

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Godscre | Mar 20, 2010, 04:49 PM EDT

Sorry, please check out Romans 13:1-7 also. Peace to all.

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Godscre | Mar 20, 2010, 04:46 PM EDT

The leaders (Pope and Bishops)should lead by example and do the right thing and turn themselves in to the civil authorities. (Romans 8) No more cover up and no more blaming each other, no more saying that others have done it. Take responsibility. Someday God will hold all accountable for every creature - human and animal (Hebrews 4:13). Very simple.

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