Vatican reacts to cardinal's gay-link paedophile claim

This is the follow up to the previous story, again from the BBC website. I’ll put my thoughts at the end, as per normal.

Karen

Now some things you hold on to - and some you just let go
Seems like the ones that you can't have
Are the ones that you want most

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The Vatican has distanced itself from remarks made by a senior cardinal, who linked homosexuality with paedophilia in the abuse scandal facing the Church.

It was not the responsibility of the Church authorities to make "assertions of a specifically psychological or medical nature", a statement said.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said it was homosexuality - not clerical celibacy - which lay behind the abuse of children.

Earlier, France condemned the cardinal for making "an unacceptable linkage".

Earlier this month, Pope Benedict's personal preacher apologised for having compared criticism of the Roman Catholic Church over abuse allegations to "the collective violence suffered by the Jews".

In a sermon, Father Raniero Cantalamessa likened allegations that the Vatican had systematically hushed up cases of sexual abuse of children by priests to the "most shameful aspects of anti-Semitism", with the use of stereotypes and the spreading of collective guilt.

The Vatican said his remarks did not represent its official view.

'Confession of weakness'

Cardinal Bertone, the Vatican's secretary of state, was attempting to defuse the scandals currently afflicting the Church during a visit to Chile on Monday, when he denied that celibacy was to blame.

"Many psychologists, many psychiatrists have demonstrated that there is no relationship between celibacy and paedophilia but many others have demonstrated, I was told recently, that there is a relationship between homosexuality and paedophilia," he said.

“That is true. I have the documents of the psychologists. That is the problem."

On Tuesday, the Vatican issued a statement questioning the cardinal's decision to discuss the matter, but also detailing its "statistical data" on the abuse of minors by priests.

The truth is that Bertone is clumsily trying to shift attention to homosexuality and away from the focus on new crimes against children that emerge every day

Aurelio Mancuso, former head of Italian gay rights association Arcigay

Ten percent of the cases referred to Church authorities concerned paedophilia in the "strict sense" and the other 90% concerned sex between priests and adolescents, it said.

Of those, 60% had to do with homosexual acts and 30% with heterosexual acts, it added.

Earlier, France - where an estimated 60% of the population are Catholic - criticised Cardinal Bertone's remarks.

"This is an unacceptable linkage and we condemn this," foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero told reporters in Paris.

"France is firmly engaged in the struggle against discrimination and prejudice linked to sexual orientation and gender identity."

In Italy, gay rights activist Aurelio Mancuso accused the cardinal of "clumsily trying to shift attention to homosexuality and away from the focus on new crimes against children that emerge every day".

Commentators in the Italian press also criticised the remarks.

In Corriere della Sera, Piero Ostellino said the Pope should be "protected" from the "imprudent remarks of some high prelates", while La Repubblica's Francesco Merlo said the "Church is hurting itself, not homosexuals".

The attempt to link homosexuality with paedophilia was a "dramatic confession of weakness [betraying] the confused state in which the Catholic Church now finds itself," Mr Merlo added.

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For once, the Catholic Church has spoken out to distance itself from comments made by a senior church member. But this doesn’t help the fact that this seems to be coming from the very heart of the Church, and all it does is alienate people from the Church, and give more ammunition to the critics.


K.