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LOS ANGELES - THE head of a Roman Catholic order that specialised in the treatment of pedophile priests visited with the then-pope nearly 50 years ago and followed up with a letter recommending the removal of pedophile priests from ministry, according to a copy of the letter released on Wednesday.
In the Aug 27, 1963 letter, the head of the New Mexico-based Servants of the Holy Paraclete tells the pope he recommends removing pedophile priests from active ministry and strongly urges defrocking repeat offenders.
The letter, written by the Reverend Gerald M.C. Fitzgerald, appears to have been drafted at the request of the pope and summarises Rev Fitzgerald's thoughts on problem priests after his Vatican visit.
A message left with the Paraclete order at one of their two existing facilities in Missouri was not returned. A number for the second facility was disconnected. Tod Tamberg, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, defended the church and said it was unlikely Paul VI ever saw the letter.
'The fact of the matter is, the prevailing ideas at the time about how to deal with abusive behavior were not adequate,' Mr Tamberg said. 'Clearly, society and the church have evolved new understandings of what causes sexually abusive behavior and how to deal with it.'
Mr Fitzgerald opens the five-page letter by thanking the pope for an audience the day before and says he is summarising his thoughts at the pope's request on the 'problem of the problem priest' after 20 years working in to treat them. -- AP
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_509192.html
In the Aug 27, 1963 letter, the head of the New Mexico-based Servants of the Holy Paraclete tells the pope he recommends removing pedophile priests from active ministry and strongly urges defrocking repeat offenders.
The letter, written by the Reverend Gerald M.C. Fitzgerald, appears to have been drafted at the request of the pope and summarises Rev Fitzgerald's thoughts on problem priests after his Vatican visit.
A message left with the Paraclete order at one of their two existing facilities in Missouri was not returned. A number for the second facility was disconnected. Tod Tamberg, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, defended the church and said it was unlikely Paul VI ever saw the letter.
'The fact of the matter is, the prevailing ideas at the time about how to deal with abusive behavior were not adequate,' Mr Tamberg said. 'Clearly, society and the church have evolved new understandings of what causes sexually abusive behavior and how to deal with it.'
Mr Fitzgerald opens the five-page letter by thanking the pope for an audience the day before and says he is summarising his thoughts at the pope's request on the 'problem of the problem priest' after 20 years working in to treat them. -- AP
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_509192.html
