‘Empty Promises’

On Thursday afternoon, after celebrating mass with 46,000 Roman Catholics in Washington, D.C., Pope Benedict XVI made an unannounced stop. He returned to the papal nunciature at the Vatican Embassy where he met with six victims of clergy sexual abuse. It was the fourth time this week he explicitly confronted the sexual abuse that rocked the American church, starting in Boston in 2002.

Benedict was joined in the private meeting by Cardinal Sean O'Malley, who took over the Boston diocese after Cardinal Bernard Law was forced to step down after he came under attack for mishandling abuse cases in his diocese. The message the pontiff delivered was described by people there as one of hope, during which the survivors aired their concerns, prayed with him and were reportedly seen in tears following the brief session.

Though the meeting was appreciated—even expected—by victims-rights groups, they say that Benedict's approach to the issue thus far of the issue has been largely ceremonial. The pope, they say, has not done enough to offer concrete plans for how to effectively punish the perpetrators of abuse and the church officials that harbor them. Barbara Blaine, president of the Survivor's Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), spoke with NEWSWEEK's Daniel Stone about her group's reaction to how Benedict has so far confronted the issue. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: What was your general reaction to him meeting with the victims of clergy abuse Thursday?
Barbara Blaine: We heard that was going to happen, so we weren't surprised. But we think it would be far better if, rather than engage in political maneuvers, he would discipline the wrongdoers and thereby maybe protect children. We applaud the courage of those victims to speak up, and we think it takes courage—but it's also extremely painful. What we're hoping for is that the Holy Father would actually take some action.

What kinds of protections and policies are in place now?
The bishops have committed themselves to remove predators when allegations are made and the allegations seem credible. The problem is that we're finding instances of predators being allowed to remain in ministry in spite of allegations. Another thing is that bishops failed to follow the system in which the National Review Board, which is affiliated with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, evaluates each diocese annually to see how each diocese is doing. The dioceses have varied in how they've put into place policy provisions, and I think 11 or 12 of dioceses were found to not be in compliance. Of all places, the archdiocese of Boston was not in compliance with a provision that says how they're supposed to protect the children and stay safe. And yet in spite of all that, the pope had [Cardinal] O'Malley yesterday at the meeting with the victims. Of all the places where you'd think they'd be bending over backward to protect children and ensure their safety, that's a diocese where they're found not to be in compliance. There are no consequences in place now for any bishop or church leader who fails to follow the policies. And we keep finding examples where they do violate policies. The policies are empty promises if there're no consequences for those that don't follow them.

So what changes would you support to address the lack of consequences?
We think the enablers—the church leaders who engage in the cover up and enabling of perpetrators—should be punished. Bishops or church leaders who are found to knowingly lead a cover-up should be fired. They shouldn't be allowed to remain as bishops. The religious superiors around the world who are harboring fugitive priests and giving them sanctuary should be forced to resign, as well.