(PHOTO CREDIT: AP)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
The buzz began before the papal plane had even touched down. There were rumors beginning to circulate that Benedict XVI might actually meet with victims of the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. The Holy Father said he would speak forcefully and directly about the shame the scandal has brought upon the church.
But talking to the victims was something that had never happened, not at that level. And yet for true healing to actually begin this is what was necessary.
And it did. Without fanfare Benedict XVI this afternoon met with a small group of people who were sexually abused by priests. No reporters, no cameras, private, personal, and profound. We are told the Pope listened to their stories and prayed with them.
There is a very long way to go if in fact it is even possible for the Catholic Church to ever overcome the effects of this, but it's a start.
Here’s my question to you: How far has Pope Benedict XVI gone toward healing the wounds of the church's sex abuse scandal?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Suzanne writes:
Hi Jack. The first step is the hardest, and he has taken it: breaking the no-talk rule and walking out of denial and minimization. Victims are re-traumatized by all the suffocating silence that surrounds abuse. With his acknowledgment, victims are validated… and the long healing journey can finally begin.
Tom from Texas writes:
Who cares? If you are still going to the Catholic Church, then it is your problem not the rest of ours.
Brent from Texas writes:
A day late and dollar short is the effort by this pope to solve this problem. The only reason he is addressing it at all is that it has cost the Catholic Church $2 billion and bankrupted several dioceses. Their actions of ignoring this very old problem and leaving thousands of children to the hands of perverts will show that this organized religion is despicable. Good people need to quit kissing the hand of His Holiness and kick his backside. Wake up, please.
Mike writes:
I believe the pope meeting with some of the victims was a very good move. It will go a long way to heal feelings. However, I also believe the wounds will not heal until someone is punished for the horrible crimes that were covered up for so long.
Kim from Dodge City, Kansas writes:
How far is far enough? No one can know for sure. I doubt if this type of behavior can ever be eradicated in a belief system that requires celibacy. It isn't natural, so it breeds deviancy.
Lenny writes:
The pope is way too late as far as I’m concerned. The Catholic Church will never completely recover from this, and rightly so. We probably will never know the hundreds of victims through the years that have suffered. And the sad thing is this can affect the whole family, generation after generation, because a lot of the victims internalize their feelings and never really deal with it properly.
JR from Toronto writes:
With no disrespect to the pope, the last time I saw that look of awe on Wolf's face was when he had Jimmy Page in the Situation Room. What a great picture!