Victim in Malta: Pope had 'tears in his eyes'

I hope this dificult time brings the real church members together as the big Catholic Family we are. And that we all try to heal those victims and our mother Catholic Church with our prayers and acts. Soon we are going to overcome all this painful situation and a better church will emerged.
God Bless Us and Bless Our Mother Catholic Church.

Perhaps this was a positive experience for some victims. The Vatican's statement issued AFTER the meeting should also have been made by the pope at the meeting; however, the report states the pope made no general comments at the time. Also, from the description of the setting, the pope seated near the altar (usually on a raised platform) probably put him physically above the victims, looking down on them. If the Pope's intent was truly pastoral as claimed, meeting the group in another, more equal setting would have appeared more sincere.

No charges laid of course.
Being over awed won't last and then one realises they have been short changed in more ways than one.
I've seen it all before I'm sorry to say.

We should pray for the Church. We should better understand the history of the Church, too.

In a way, each of us are like the Church in that we have divine grace, God's power within us, yet we fall short in our human weakness - often to sins we may have thought we had already dealt with.

In a way, each of our families are like the Church in the same way. We have God's live and love of neighbor, yet we continually sin, disappoint each other, and are called to forgive, lift up, and pray for one another.

God sure picked a sloppy, backsliding, counter-intuitive way to save us all and call us to Himself.

Holy Mary, pray for us!

This Pope deserves credit for meeting with the victims. I think many other princes of the church would not do as much as he has done. Still, big changes must to made to make the church a place where abusers can not hide.

To prevent abuse from occurring in the future, the structure of the hierarchy, deference given to the priests, and culture of secrecy has to change. It is not so shocking that these things happened (human nature being what it is) as it is that they happened over and over (and over) again. The people have to come before the institution. Could Benedict be the one to restructure the clergy and add independent oversight? Nixon went to China, after all.

"“However, the Pope's professions of ‘sorrow’ don't keep one child molesting cleric away from kids, expose one corrupt bishop or make one child more secure,” Dorris said. “That is where the Pope’s focus should be.”"

Obviously there are those who have no interest in acknowledging that things have changed drastically since 2002, and that the pope has "focused" by putting into place some very effective policies. But that wouldn't help the "evil Benedict" narrative to grow, now, would it?

@L.Newington: The Pope is not the District Attorney of Malta or part of the criminal justice system over there. Of course he can't "lay charges" - that's the job of Malta's criminal justice system.

@Anon#1: "Above the victims?" Definitely not. He cried with them. The Pope was not silent. He had conversations with them. Read the victims interview in La Stampa. Whatever Papa Benedict discussed with them about their personal abuse experience remains with them and rightfully so.

I hope that the Pope will begin to understand that his very gift of rosaries may stimulate the Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome that these victims of clerical misbehavior suffer. It will take far more than Rosaries to solve the personal and psychological needs of these abused people.

The Pope and and curia would do well to attempt to understand their own sinful roles in empowering misbehavior in RCC rapist priests. These poor victims suffer a deadened sense of existence that could be enlivened if only we had leaders prepared to confront in themselves the causes of the rot of a sinful and failing leadership. They are in need of opening up and admitting (confessing) their own failure to understand their own roles in their mistaken behavior by refusing to clean up the sexual, financial, misogynistic, and anti scientific policies of the RCC.

They could start by attempting to understand that their own lack of ethical breadth and depth of hardened personality developed in an authoritarian mindset. They have confused an impossible omnipotence (only God is omnipotent not men) with spiritual and canonical authority. They seem to believe in a personal omniscience that has led to a belief in their own infallibility of behavior. It is a leadership culture that is unable to focus on reality. I know that many in leadership are too old and have too frail personalities for the task- The People of God need to demand the retirement of this sub group.

May the People of God gain sanctifying grace of Our Lord by confronting clerical misbehavior with the fresh air of truth and therapy that the victims of the Bishops lack of action and rapist priests has caused. The Church Leadership itself desperately needs institutional as well as personal therapy that would give them a chance again to bring them back into the reality of God’s truth. Scott Peck wrote a book about “the people of the lie.” Unfortunately through their misuse of ‘mental reservations,’ our leadership has become “The People of the Lie.”

R. Dennis Porch, MD

My heart grieves for Pope Benedict, the victims, and all those worthy humble priests who suffer along with the many Catholics who know we have a long way to go. Why is it that people can not accept that changes have been and continue to be made in light of all that has happened. The Pope's sorrow is expressed as sincere. How can Dorris proclaim to judge his remorse? Let he who is free of sin cast the first stone.