At long last, His Holiness the Pope talks sensibly about paedophilia within the Church ...

... and says the Church must prevent it happening again (click on the link at the right from there to watch/listen to what the Pontiff had to say).

For several years I have been railing in this blog and on my main website about the cover-up tactics adopted by the Church in relation to the crimes of its employees (priests, Bishops, Cardinals) in either perpetrating acts of paedophilia or of covering up such activity by Church colleagues and in colluding to provide miscreants with positions within the Church in areas away from where the original crimes had been committed, only for them to commit new crimes in their new positions. It is gratifying that at long last the Holy Father has spoken so clearly about this sickness at the heart of the organisation he leads; now we will be watching closely to see that his words are followed by action. He made the declaration during the visit to the Vatican of a number of Bishops from Ireland, where sex scandals involving paedophilia have bedevilled the Church for decades. Only recently I was castigated in his own blog by a visitor to this blog over a post (see here and here) I had written imputing base motives to some members of the Catholic Church, including both the present and the last Pontiff, in relation to their abymally poor and indeed outrageous mishandling of this scandal in the Church; if this latest move by Pope Benedict XVI signifies genuine change then I am truly glad.

PS/ However, read here (New York Times) about the latest 'crackpot' draft policy being proposed by US Catholic Bishops on how the Church should conduct its ministry toward gays, entitled "Ministry to Persons with a Homosexual Inclination: Guidelines for Pastoral Care"; it will be voted on by the next meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops when it meets in Baltimore between 13-16 November; this document does not seem to give much evidence of any change in the tired old policies of the Church with regard to demonising activities of which it disapproves.