"A child is never responsible for abuse. Any abuser of a child is always responsible, especially a priest. Sexual abuse of a minor is a terrible crime and should always be treated as such."
The Friars said the priest "never intended to excuse abuse or implicate the victims." The order noted that Fr. Groeschel is in "declining health" and unable to care for himself, citing the 2004 accident in which a car struck him and left him comatose for a month.
"Although these factors do not excuse his comments, they help us understand how such a compassionate man could have said something so wrong, so insensitive, and so out of character."
The friars promised prayers for those hurt by Fr. Groeschel's comments, especially sexual abuse victims.
Bill Donohue, President of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, said it is "scurrilous" to label Fr. Groeschel a defender of sexual abuse. He pointed to other comments in the interview where the priest said that sexually abusive priests "have to leave."
The Catholic League head noted the priest's "impressive record" in counseling "some of the most mentally and socially challenged people in our society" and in screening men for the priesthood.
However, Donohue said Fr. Groeschel's car accident has "definitely taken a toll on him."
"I've read his books, listened to his tapes-on sexual abuse-and have come to know a great priest," Donohue said Aug. 30. "To condemn him for one part of one interview is wholly unjust."
The National Catholic Register pulled the interview from its website. Editor-in-Chief Jeanette De Melo apologized for publishing his comments "without clarification or challenge."
"Given Father Benedict's stellar history over many years, we released his interview without our usual screening and oversight," she said.
"Child sexual abuse is never excusable."
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Kevin J. Jones is a senior staff writer with Catholic News Agency. He was a recipient of a 2014 Catholic Relief Services' Egan Journalism Fellowship.