On the BBC's "Has the Pope’s apology gone far enough?"

When producer Paul Vassalo from the BBC's World Have Your Say programme asked me to join in the debate about Pope Benedict XVI's pastoral letter to the Irish, I immediately recalled the document and I commented that I was aware of the BBC's own articles on the subject. It was my impression that most people who commented on the Pope's ground-breaking document had not read it, but simply formatted an opinion based on the media's own comments of it.

I knew the above was true because chiefly among the persistent grievances of the public commenting on the letter were terms like “lack of accountability” and “lack of practical action”. They regarded the letter as a mere apology, which is of course an incomplete assessment.

I did read the Pope’s heartfelt manifest and I see in his letter the words of a man committed to resolving a problem. He courageously admitted to the problem and publically pledged himself, personally and as Pontiff, to correcting these wrongs not only for the present generation and not just for Ireland, but for the future and for all nations where the Catholic Church is inserted. This is so because the Catholic Church is a Universal Church. Canon Law and Doctrine are to be applied equally everywhere that the Church is present; hence, whatever is decided in Ireland will guide the decisions made elsewhere that similar problems arise.

The letter did have an apology. However, there was much more than solidarity in it, there was a commitment to implementing practical action. Here are the points I learned from the Pope’s message:

1. The Pontiff has officially and unequivocally expressed regret and shame about the fact itself and the about the mishandling of it.
2. He reaffirmed that both the crimes and the way they were handled were not coherent with the precepts of the Church (both in Canon Law and Doctrine). He called the attention of the perpetrators of this erroneous policy and the abusers to the fact that they compromised the Church's moral credibility; calling them traitors to the Faith.
3. He has urged the abusers to repent and submit to divine and secular authority, and he has made recommendations that any such offence be treated lawfully per the laws of the Church and of the respective sovereign nation.
4. He has admonished the bishops who have mishandled the matter and has set teams to scrutinise their actions and to look over their shoulders on this and in other matters.
5. He has initiated a revision of seminaries and the processes of indoctrination of priests to prevent reoccurrence. This is all very practical and very affirmative action.
6. He announced that these actions would continue to be updated in an ongoing process.

Therefore we can conclude that all this was just the beginning, for the Pope has not limited his actions to what’s in the letter, but reaffirmed that he is engaged in the continuity of investigations and in studying means of correcting the wrongs of the past to promote a better future for Catholic institutions; a future more consistent with the precepts of our Faith. There's no mistake: This is all very practical and very assertive action.

Whereas there were many commentators wishing to capitalise on the moment to pursue changes to the precepts of celibacy and ordination of women, threatening defection from the Church and other such silly approaches, I still think that the present problem is but two-fold:

1. Paedophilic individuals are deranged and they’ll go to great lengths to perpetrate their abominations. They are not inherent of the Catholic Church and are present everywhere in our Western Society. The root of paedophilic behaviour is not celibacy nor is it religion, as proven by statistics on child abuse. We need to find out what the root is, so that we may better screen these predators from our institutions. For the Catholic Church the Pope has already manifested his will that this is done by ordering the revision of screening processes, seminaries and moral formation policy. The Church is also promoting training for parents that they may be better prepared to detect problems.

2. An erroneous policy of cover-ups was implemented that was not coherent with Canon Law nor with the Catholic Doctrine. This is being addressed as well and the Pope has commanded the villains to repent and to submit to the civil authorities. He has also commanded that full cooperation is extended to the authorities of each sovereign nation, according to the law of the land.

As I see it, the abuse of minors is indeed a great injustice and it needs to and shall be addressed. However, we cannot correct this injustice by perpetrating another one: The injustice of calling the whole of the Catholic Church a disappointment.

I grew up going to Catholic institutions; having studied many, many years in Catholic schools. I’ve also partaken in activities and visits to Catholic Healthcare, Homing, Charity and Humanitarian efforts and institutions. I can tell you this from personal experience: There are always rotten apples – as this is part of the human experience and we are all imperfect – but for every one rotten apple I have encountered, there were basketfuls of good priests, nuns and volunteers.

So, if you haven't read the letter for yourself, I reccommend that you do: http://www.vatican.va/resources/index_en.htm