By IRNA,
Berlin : A leading German Catholic activist organization on Saturday lashed out at Pope Benedict XVI for his silence on the widening child abuse scandal in Germany.
Talking to IRNA in Berlin, Annegret Laakmann of the pro-reform Catholic group ‘We Are The Church’ said had been a “major loss of trust” in the German Catholic church which was partially due to the pontiff’s refusal to address the case.
The Catholic activist added the church had “missed the opportunity” to use the Easter mass ceremonies as an opportunity for what it labeled a “new beginning.”
“The pope was silent (on the issue) … This means that nothing will change,” according to Laakmann.
Asked about her assessment as to why the Pope kept silent on the case, she said it was because he did not want to damage the image of the holy church.
She added however that perhaps the pontiff had not realized yet that the church’s image was already tarnished.
Laakmann pointed out many Catholics had formally left the church as a result of the scandal.
Since January, hundreds of former Catholic students have come forward with claims of clerical sex abuse, many dating back to the 1950s and 1960s.
Laakmann stressed the need for “structural changes” in the Catholic church as a result of the child abuse affair.
She also urged the Catholic church “to reach out to the younger people” in the wake of the scandal.