Mexican bishops reiterate 'zero tolerance' for pedophilia

Mexico City, Mexico, Apr 15, 2010 / 15:48 pm

The Bishops' Conference of Mexico praised Pope Benedict XVI this week for his efforts addressing clerical sexual abuse and underscored their own “zero tolerance” for such cases. 

The bishops began by acknowledging that in the past, “errors were made by not acting quickly in response to these situations,” and then asked for forgiveness from the victims.

Such sad and painful situations “are cause for penance, conversion and purification in the truth in order to achieve justice,” they continued.  “The truth is a way of life whose premise is the recognition of reality.”

“With that we wish to say that we will not oppose investigations by civil authorities ... in these and other cases that have taken place,” the bishops stated.

Pedophilia occurs for various reasons, they continued.  “Society has tended to be very liberal on sexual ethics,” and now we “are seeing the consequences.”  The prelates added that, “sexual education has been needed in the family and in schools,” but they warned that it must not be reduced “to mere genital information, which often leads to sexual licentiousness.”

The Mexican bishops also said that Pope Benedict XVI’s letter to Irish Catholics “resonates throughout the entire universal Church.”  The attacks on the Pope are virulent and unjust, they added, “not only in the decisive issue of abuse and mistreatment of minors, but also in the misinterpretation of his message in support of life and family values.”

“It seems like they want him to fail in his struggle for the dignity of the human being,” the bishops concluded.