The suffering of the victims

The Swiss daily Der Tagesanzeiger criticises the Pope during his visit to Australia for not receiving the parents of two victims of sexual abuse by priests, Anthony and Christina Foster, personally: "The Pope may have addressed the subject of sexual abuse in Sydney, but he limited himself to platitudes. He recognised that those responsible had 'damaged the credentials of the church' and said the victims should receive care and those responsible be brought to justice. But that happens only very rarely in Australia. Instead of alerting the police, charges are often investigated internally by the church. And usually the outcome is a quiet agreement between the victims and the church. ... The joy that the World Youth Day has brought to Sydney has been marred by the fact that words like 'sympathy' and 'love of one's neighbour' sound hollow in the mouth of the Pope so long as people like Anthony and Christina Foster do not get a hearing."

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