AP News, July 17th, 2007
The Vatican said Tuesday it would lead the fight against pedophilia, but said the problem was not limited to the Catholic Church and that other institutions should take responsibility.
Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi spoke to Vatican Radio after the Los Angeles archdiocese reached a $660 million settlement with more than 500 alleged victims of clergy sex abuse, the largest-ever U.S. payout.
Lombardi said the agreement "closed a painful page" and allowed the church to focus on creating a secure environment for young Catholics.
"The church is obviously above all saddened by the suffering of the victims and their families, by the profound wounds caused by the inexcusable and grave behavior of various church members, and is determined to commit itself in every way to prevent the repetition of such wickedness," he said.
However, he said, other institutions should also take similar responsibility.
"They too should take decisions and necessary measures," he said, without naming any institutions.
Regardless, Lombardi said the church would lead "the fight against pedophilia, which today involves growing sectors of society in many countries of the world."
Pope Benedict XVI has spoken strongly about the clergy sex scandal, endorsing efforts to examine allegations and support victims.
In an October 2006 meeting with bishops from Ireland _ an overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country where all but one seminary closed following repeated sex scandals _ Benedict urged them to rebuild confidence and trust among the faithful.
"It is important to establish the truth of what happened in the past, to take whatever steps are necessary to prevent it from occurring again, to ensure that the principles of justice are fully respected and, above all, to bring healing to the victims and to all those affected by these egregious crimes," he said then.
While they were his most explicit remarks as pope, in March 2005 as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger he denounced what he called "filth" in the church "even among those ... in the priesthood."
Those words, part of the meditations he composed for the Good Friday Via Crucis procession, were seen by many as a denunciation of the clergy sexual abuse scandals.
