According to an interview with one of Italy’s most famous journalists, Eugenio Scalfari, the Pope is trying to confront the problem of pedophiles within the ranks of Catholic clergy. Calling it a “leprosy in our house,” he said the Church must “weep and make reparation.” Interestingly, he also indicated he holds the opinion that forced celibacy may be part of the problem. During the interview with Scalfari, who is well-known as an atheist, he also apparently made statements about the problem extending to high ranks, including cardinals. The interview was published in?La Repubblica, a publication founded by Scalfari.
The Pope said he believes that approximately one in 50 priests are pedophiles.
“The 2 percent of pedophiles are priests, and even bishops and cardinals,” the pope allegedly said. “And others, even more numerous, know about it but keep quiet, they punish without saying the reason why. I find this state of things untenable and it is my intention to confront it with the severity it requires.”
The Vatican is going for damage control after the Pope’s remarks.?Papal spokesman Father Federico Lombard has stated that the interview attempts manipulate “naive readers” and that the celibacy and cardinal statements are misconstrued. Because Scalfari does not record interviews or take notes, only he and the Pope know for sure. However, it’s notable that this isn’t the first time that the Vatican has attempted to take back things stated by the Pope — and the celibacy statement is actually in agreement with a previous statement by the Vatican’s secretary of state,?Archbishop Pietro Parolin.
In an interview with a Venezuelan newspaper, Parolin said that “It is not a church dogma and it can be discussed because it is a church tradition.” That’s right in line with what the Pope said in his recent interview; celibacy wasn’t instituted until “900 years after Our Lord’s death.” While the role celibacy may or may not play in pedophilia is highly debated and not as clear as some like to think, the fact the Pope is trying to take meaningful action counts for something, even if it can’t undo the decades of abuse that have already occurred. As with any major organization, large-scale reform can be difficult to achieve, and the culture of secrecy within Catholic ranks makes his job even harder.
And statements about celibacy aren’t the only action he’s taken. As?Liberal America?reported a couple of weeks ago,
Pope Francis formed a committee to advise him on the claims of sexual abuse at the hands of priests within the church. On this committee, he had placed a victim of a priest to help with the investigations. Half of the members are also women, and there is even a psychologist, Boston’s Cardinal Sean O?Malley, and one of the women was victimized by a priest herself at thirteen years old.
What do you think? Will the Pope be successful in changing the Catholic Church, or is the institution irredeemable? Let us know your thoughts on the Liberal America Facebook page.
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