Critics accused Benedict, who before becoming pope in 2005 was for 23 years in charge of the Vatican doctrinal office that has been widely criticized for its handling of abuse cases, of trying to shift blame away from the Church. 'It could be said that in the 20 years from 1960 to 1980, the previously
1 / 2FILE PHOTO: Pope Benedict XVI finishes his last general audience in St Peter's Square at the VaticanFILE PHOTO: Pope Benedict XVI finishes his last general audience in St Peter's Square at the Vatican February 27, 2013. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File PhotoBy Philip Pullella
But in a rare essay, he also said the Church's legal system had at times been overly protective of accused clerics, citing what he called judicial guarantees that were"extended to such an extent that convictions were hardly possible". Benedict was head of the doctrinal office when the first wave of abuse cases were exposed in Boston in 2002. Later, as pope, he took action against some paedophiles that had been blocked during the reign of his predecessor, John Paul.
The impetus for the essay, titled"The Church and the Scandal of Sexual Abuse", was a summit of senior bishops that Francis, his successor as pope, held in February to discuss the crisis, he said. "The idea that ecclesial abuse of children was a result of the 1960s, a supposed collapse of moral theology, and"conciliarity" is an embarrassingly wrong explanation for the systemic abuse of children and its cover up."
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