The Pope's address on sex abuse

In April 2002 John Paul II called an emergency meeting of 12 American cardinals for a two-day summit debate in Rome over "zero tolerance" for priests who sexually abuse children. The cardinals were paternally but clearly told by the Holy Father that, as well as being an "appalling sin in the eyes of God", sexual abuse was "justly considered a crime".

The Pope stressed: "Like you, I too have been deeply grieved by the fact that priests and religious, whose vocation it is to help people live holy lives in the sight of God, have themselves caused such suffering and scandal to the young.

Because of the great harm done by some priests and religious, the Church herself is viewed with distrust, and many are offended at the way in which the Church's leaders are perceived to have acted in this matter.

"The abuse which has caused this crisis is by every standard wrong and rightly considered a crime by society; it is also an appalling sin in the eyes of God. To the victims and their families, wherever they may be, I express my profound sense of solidarity and concern."

He also made it clear to the cardinals, and to all, that a generalised lack of knowledge of the nature of the problem and also at times of advice of clinical experts led bishops to take decisions which subsequent events showed to be wrong.

However, the Pope went on addressing the cardinals: "You are now working to establish more reliable criteria to ensure that such mistakes are not repeated." At the same time, even while recognising how indispensable these criteria are, we cannot forget the power of Christian conversion, that radical decision to turn away from sin and back to God, which reaches to the depths of a person's soul and can work extraordinary change.

The Pope felt it his duty to remark to the American cardinals: "Neither should we forget the immense spiritual, human and social good that the vast majority of priests and religious in the United States have done and are still doing. The Catholic Church in your country has always promoted human and Christian values with great vigour and generosity in a way that has helped to consolidate all that is noble in the American people.

"A great work of art may be blemished, but its beauty remains; and this is a truth which any intellectually honest critic will recognise. To the Catholic communities in the US, to their pastors and members, to the men and women religious, to teachers in Catholic universities and schools, to American missionaries in all parts of the world, go the wholehearted thanks of the entire Catholic Church and the personal thanks of the Bishop of Rome."

No doubt, it has been made absolutely clear to the Catholic faithful, and the wider community, that bishops and superiors are concerned, above all else, with the spiritual good of souls.

Finally, John Paul II appealed to the cardinals: "People need to know that there is no place in the priesthood and religious life for those who would harm the young. They must know that bishops and priests are totally committed to the fullness of Catholic truth on matters of sexual morality, a truth as essential to the renewal of the priesthood and the episcopate as it is to the renewal of marriage and family life... and I ask Catholics to stay close to their priests and bishops, and support them with their prayers at this difficult time."

Worthy of note is Cardinal Mahoney's statement after the cardinals' summit: "I've read the Pope's speech as support for a zero-tolerance policy. You can convert hearts and offer reconciliation, but you cannot reassign priest-abusers. The Pope is being as clear as he can be; there's no place for abusers in the priesthood."