A historic day, a stirring appeal, but can the Pope escape the abuse scandal?
Jerome Taylor
"Pope Benedict XVI began his four-day state visit to Britain yesterday with a frank admission that the Church was too slow in tackling clerical sex abuse and a warning that the UK should resist "aggressive forms of secularism" which threaten to undermine the country's "Christian foundations".
"Even before flight AZ4000 - dubbed "Shepherd One" - landed in Scotland yesterday morning, the 83-year-old pontiff made it clear that he would not shy away from controversy or difficult subjects during the first state visit to Britain by a pope.
"He told reporters on board the plane that Church leaders had been "insufficiently vigilant" in halting the sexual abuse of children. "It is difficult to understand how this perversion of the priestly ministry was possible," said the Pope, who once led the Vatican council charged with investigating crimes of priests. "It is also a great sadness that the authority of the Church was not sufficiently vigilant and not sufficiently quick and decisive in taking the necessary measures.""
Pour citer cette ressource :
A historic day, a stirring appeal, but can the Pope escape the abuse scandal?, La Clé des Langues [en ligne], Lyon, ENS de LYON/DGESCO (ISSN 2107-7029), septembre 2010. Consulté le 14/11/2024. URL: https://cle.ens-lyon.fr/anglais/archives/archives-revue-de-presse/a-historic-day-a-stirring-appeal-but-can-the-pope-escape-the-abuse-scandal-