Edmonton bishop latest to defend Pope in abuse scandal

Edmonton's Roman Catholic archbishop held a rare news conference Tuesday to say Canada's bishops strongly support Pope Benedict XVI — who has come under fire lately over allegations he covered up sex abuse within the Roman Catholic Church.

Archbishop Richard Smith said he and his fellow Canadian bishops have sent a letter to the Vatican offering the "absolute support and confidence of ... all the bishops of Canada in the clear and decisive leadership of the Holy Father at this time."

Last Friday, Canada’s top Roman Catholic cardinal, Quebec City Archbishop Marc Ouellet, denounced allegations that Pope Benedict XVI covered up cases of sexual abuse committed by priests.

Ouellet, who is primate of the Roman Catholic Church in Canada, accused members of the media of having ulterior motives in their attempts to link the Pope to the Church's mishandling of sexual abuse cases.

'There's lots of suggestions in the media reports throughout the world that are questioning his leadership at this time.' — Richard Smith, Roman Catholic archbishop of Edmonton

Edmonton's archbishop said Tuesday that he passed along a similar message when he spoke to local church members and priests this week. 

"I wanted to make sure that everybody knew we had full, full confidence in the Pope," Smith said at Tuesday's news conference. "Because as you know, there's lots of suggestions in the media reports throughout the world that are questioning his leadership at this time."

The Vatican is facing one of its gravest crises of modern times as questions surrounding sex abuse within the Church continue to plague the Pope.

Last Friday, the New York Times reported that in the early 1980s, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, as Pope Benedict was known then, was aware of a decision to transfer a German priest suspected of sexual abuse back to his pastoral duties within days of beginning psychiatric treatment.

Another allegation claims that while head of the Vatican office responsible for disciplining priests, Ratzinger halted the church trial of a Milwaukee priest accused of molesting around 200 deaf boys between 1950 and 1975.

The National Catholic Reporter in the United States has since called on Benedict to answer questions about his role "in the mismanagement" of sex abuse cases, not only in the current crisis but during his tenure in the 1980s as archbishop of Munich and then as head of the Vatican's doctrinal and disciplinary office.

Reports based on 'misrepresentation of the facts'

Earlier last week, the Pope accepted the resignation of Irish Bishop John Magee, who has been accused of mishandling complaints of sex abuse in his diocese.

In a homily to Edmonton parishioners Monday, Smith said the Church is "aware of the scourge of sexual abuse of minors perpetrated by a small number of clergy coming to light in some countries of Europe.

"As the scandal unfolds, some media reports are even claiming that the Holy Father himself has been negligent in his leadership pertaining to these heinous crimes. [Critics] should be aware that people who have examined closely the media reports are raising their voices in his defence, pointing out that they are based largely upon misrepresentation of the facts.

'The bishops of Canada affirm our complete confidence in the strong and decisive leadership he has shown.' —Richard Smith, Roman Catholic archbishop of Edmonton

"Any impartial observer can see that Pope Benedict is deeply troubled by the harm that has been done to young people. He does not hesitate to manifest his sorrow and empathy to victims. And he has clearly demonstrated his resolve, both before and after assuming the papal office, to confront this problem and lead the Church on 'a path of healing, renewal and reparation.'

"The bishops of Canada affirm our complete confidence in the strong and decisive leadership he has shown and continues to show when dealing with this terrible problem."

Smith noted that Canada's Roman Catholic bishops "also share with [the Pope] the profound sorrow arising from the undeniable fact that some clergy have hurt innocent children, and some Bishops have badly mishandled their responses to these crimes.

"We cannot run or hide from these things, and we have no desire to do so … they need to be forthrightly and transparently addressed."