Hindus have said that Vatican has still not accepted responsibility regarding the culture of cover-ups in its report on Irish child abuse scandals, which was released on March 20.
Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that it was a good opportunity for the Holy See to address its role but they seemed to have lost it.
Vatican should have acknowledged full responsibility of various Church institutions to instill confidence and it should have been more transparent to solidify the authenticity of Church’s repentance, Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, argued.
Rajan Zed stressed that Vatican should issue a detailed worldwide White Paper on the child abuse issue and all the survivors worldwide should be adequately compensated for the hurt and pain. Pledging reform was wonderful but it should be followed by decisive actions.
Zed pointed out that when serious allegations were leveled against one religion/denomination, it affected the whole religious spectrum in the world, raising distrust among believers in general and eroding faith of the faithful.
Rajan Zed, however, welcomed various parts of this report, titled “Summary of the Findings of the Apostolic Visitation in Ireland”, which he called “step in the right direction”: Holy See’s re-echoing of the “sense of dismay and betrayal”; its acknowledgement that “innocent young people were abused by clerics and Religious to whose care they had been entrusted, while those who should have exercised vigilance often failed to do so effectively”; laying stress to “devote much time listening to and receiving victims, providing support for them and their families”; “assurance that all newly-discovered cases of abuse are promptly brought before both the competent civil authority and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith”; in the seminaries “include in the academic programme in-depth formation on matters of child protection”; “increased pastoral attention to victims of sexual abuse and their families”, and “All Institutes should perform an audit of their personnel files”.
This report was of investigation ordered by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI and conducted by Vatican appointed teams.