Last Updated: Friday - 09/24/2010

Canadian Bishops slam press reports on Church's response to abuse

OTTAWA - The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops criticized recent press coverage in two major newspapers suggesting the Catholic Church has inadequately responded to the sexual abuse crisis.

The statement pointed to articles published March 18 in The National Post and LaPresse which, the bishops said, were inaccurate and offended Canadian Catholics.

The National Post published on its front page a large photo of Pope Benedict, with a headline "Pope seeks repentance." Inside, the paper included a column under the headline "The great Catholic cover-up" by Christopher Hitchens, an author who has acknowledged being an atheist.

In his column, Hitchens called the pope "a man personally and professionally responsible for enabling a filthy wave of crime."

Bishop Pierre Morissette of St. Jerome, Quebec, president of the CCCB, said the bishops "strongly deplore the tone of these articles which are offensive to Canadian Catholics and imply that the Church has not responded to the problem of sexual abuse.

"This is false, and the accusations are evidently influenced by prejudice."

The bishops called the attacks in the press "unjust," saying the pope has "shown an example of great leadership, by apologizing to victims and by supporting the initiatives of bishops to prevent future cases of abuse."

The bishops noted their own position on child sexual abuse has been clear for years, recalling their 1992 report From Pain to Hope.

It recommended bishops respond fairly and openly to allegations of abuse, offer assistance to victims and respect the jurisdiction of civil authorities.

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