The composed veneer of Pope Benedict XVI over the sex abuse crisis affecting the Catholic Church cracked this weekend, as he apparently wept during a meeting with victims of sexual abuse. The Pope spoke for half an hour with eight men from Malta who were abused as children by four priests in a Catholic orphanage. "He had tears in his eyes," one of the men, Joseph Magro, told the Associated Press afterwards. (Watch an AP report about the Pope's tearful meeting with abuse victims) Does Benedict's emotional response to the victims mark a turning point in his handling of the PR crisis?
Stop crying and clean up the church: This means very little, says an unsigned editorial in the Independent Florida Alligator. No amount of "Vatican-sized tears will reverse the pain and shame these men feel." Giving tearful condolences is one thing, but "actions speak louder than words. "The Pope needs to "blow [his] nose" and make "substantial changes in the regulatory proceedings for priesthood."
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