Features

Pope's defining moment

Posted on: April 18, 2008

Though the Pope Benedict is going according to his schedule during the on going six-day visit to the U.S., all of the events are completely overshadowed by the sex abuse scandals involving the pedophile priests.

The sex scandal, which many thought Pope won’t be talking much about, is turning out to be the defining moment for the Pope, who is not as popular as Pope John Paul II in U.S.

For the third consecutive day, the sex scandal issue was the priority for Pope. Pope met with half a dozen sex abuse victims in a private meeting during a huge open Mass celebration at Nationals Stadium on Thursday. Up to 50,000 Catholics made it to the mass.

The victims both men and women met one by one with the Pope. The victims, all adults, were molested when they were minors. They said they were relieved and their faith was restored but most of the other victims are demanding action than words.

The pedophile priests scandal erupted in U.S. in 2002, after the Catholic Church in the country was alleged of pedophile and the covering up of wrong-doing by high-level church officials. At that time both, George W. Bush and Pope John Paul II held meetings and expressed their deep concern over the sex scandal in the U.S. Church. Eight years on, on more sex scandal came to light which has rocked the Catholic Church in the U.S.

However, the sex scandal involving priests is not new in U.S. Thousands of priests have been accused of molesting minors in the U.S. since 1950 and the church has paid out more than $2 billion, much of it in just the last six years, when the case of a serial molester in Boston gained national attention and prompted many victims to step forward.

Share This

Your Comments

Commenting is closed for this article.

Click here to go to Features Archives