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| Catholic Church Scandal |
| 2003年09月04日14:07:19 网易教育 by Disqualification Controversy |
HOST: Hello, I'm Russell Woodgates with the VOA News Now Opinion Roundup!
"Too little too late" seems to be the common assessment of last week's statement by the Vatican and the dozen American cardinals on what they plan to do to end the sex abuse scandal now plaguing the Roman Catholic Church.
The Boston Globe newspaper, which brought the pedophile priest scandal to public notice here in the United States with a series of exposes, says the Vatican solution falls far short of being sufficient:
VOICE: The cardinals and the Vatican did not adopt a zero-tolerance policy for abusive priests. Instead, they favor a new code to dismiss ''notorious'' repeat offenders. The US bishops should be tougher than that.
The Globe again called for the immediate resignation of Boston Cardinal Bernard Law, who has admitted to largely ignoring priests who preyed on boys in his Massachusetts diocese.
The New York Times also finds little to applaud in the Vatican solution...and some that's even a little disturbing:
VOICE: It was disheartening to see the cardinals try to play down the scandals by noting that most victims were adolescents rather than young children. That may be true, but it hardly excuses the predatory practices of many priests. We hope that...the pope's own remarks, especially his comment that there is "no place" in the priesthood for child abusers, suggests that a zero-tolerance policy may eventually take shape. It should.
In the end, writes columnist Mary McGrory in the Washington Post, the Catholic Cardinals seemed to be more intent on damage control than controlling the priests who've caused the damage:
VOICE: In Rome, in the papal palace, the mood was defensive rather than penitential. The faithful who were waiting for justice and enlightenment must accept the fact of the meeting as more important than what was said or done.
In the Midwestern state of MIchigan, where Catholic prelates have taken the lead in promising to report pedophile priests to the police, the Detroit Free Press believes that's the right thing to do...and wonders why the Vatican statement didn't announce that as a church-wide policy:
VOICE: Scientific research into pedophilia should make that a no-brainer for the bishops; it's just too risky. Instead, the statement leaves open the possibility of convicted priests being someday reassigned, which is what has gotten the church into this mess in the first place. An institution that depends on its credibility to be a social influence beyond its own congregations needs to take bolder, stronger steps to restore that credibility.
HOST: What do you think? Email your response to opinion@voanews.com. Please tell us where you're emailing from and how to pronounce your name. You can also write me at VOA News Now Opinion, Washington, DC, 20237, USA. And visit our website anytime, at voanews.com/newsnow to listen again, read a complete transcript and follow links to other sources. With Opinion Roundup, I'm Russell Woodgates.
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