Washington D.C., Mar 30, 2010 / 08:15 am
This morning the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops expressed “profound gratitude” for the assistance that Pope Benedict XVI has given the bishops in their “efforts to respond to victims, deal with perpetrators and to create safe environments for children.” The statement comes in the midst of numerous media reports attempting to link the Pope to mishandling of sex abuse cases.
The bishops opened their March 30 statement by saying that “the recent emergence of more reports of sexual abuse by clergy saddens and angers the Church and causes us shame.” If “there is anywhere that children should be safe, it should be in their homes and in the Church,” the bishops said.
The latest reports of sexual abuse to surface have come from Europe and have been accompanied by attempts, both in Europe and the U.S., to connect the mishandling of the abusive priests to Pope Benedict.
In today's statement, the American bishops came to the Pope's defense, stating, “(w)e know from our experience how Pope Benedict is deeply concerned for those who have been harmed by sexual abuse and how he has strengthened the Church's response to victims and supported our efforts to deal with perpetrators.”