According to its own figures the Vatican has recorded around 3,000 cases of child abuse in the Catholic Church in the last nine years. According to Charles Scicluna, representative of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, ten percent of these were cases of paedophilia on the part of the clergy but for the most part they were "homosexual contacts" between members of the clergy and pupils who were already over 15. The daily Le Soir is astounded by so much shamelessness: "The Vatican's banalisation of illicit relations with youths over 15 ... is striking. Either Monsignor Scicluna believes paedophile priests who abuse children are less responsible for their behaviour due to the age of their victims, or he's insinuating that the sins of the flesh committed by the priests were provoked by the young victims. ... Above and beyond these questions, the Catholic Church must now recognise that sexual relations, whether as child abuse or joyous contact with consenting adults, are common among its priests. ... More than the question of whether the clergy may marry, which boils down to entering a contractual relation with a partner, the Church must face the question of the forced (and hypocritical) abstinence imposed on clergymen. Clearly it is impossible to respect such a slavish regime." (15/03/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Global
All available articles from » Marc Metdepenningen

In the 1980s a priest known for his paedophilic tendencies was placed in charge of a congregation in Munich with the knowledge of Pope Benedict XVI, then Cardinal Ratzinger. Regardless of the consequences the Pope must now answer pressing questions, writes the left-liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung: "Benedict XVI has condemned sexual abuse in the harshest terms, so it's not possible to accuse him of wanting to cover up or deny paedophilia in the Church. Nevertheless he is now directly implicated in the affair, and must justify the trust that more than a billion Catholics place - or not, as the case may be - in the Pontiff. ... The Church isn't in this crisis of confidence because it's a club for child abusers. It is in this crisis because it indulges in self-pity rather than helping the victims, for example with a compensation fund. It is in this crisis because it doesn't want to admit that the clergy attracts men with problems of sexual identity. It is in this crisis which concerns the entire country because until now the Church has offered warmth and proximity that were in short supply in other parts of society. This rare good could now become all the more scarce, and the Pope must also answer for that." (14/03/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Germany
All available articles from » Matthias Drobinski

A growing number of Germans are reporting that they suffered sexual abuse at the hands of priests as children. The daily Helsingin Sanomat writes that criticism and mistrust of the Church are growing apace: "Luckily the social climate has changed. Catholicism continues to play an important role in Germany, the homeland of Pope Benedict XVI. So was it unheard of when Chancellor Angela Merkel, chair of the Christian Democrats and thus political leader of Germany's Christians, recently criticised the Pope for his attitude towards a bishop who denied the Holocaust. And now a second 'brazen' politician, [Sabine] Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, is daring to attack the Church. But in fact the statements by the justice minister merely reflect what surveys indicate a majority of Germans are feeling: a deep distrust in the Catholic Church." (15/03/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Germany, » Global

Cases of sexual abuse of children by Roman Catholic priests have also come to light in the Netherlands. This has prompted a discussion about celibacy in the country, but celibacy is not the only cause for the abuse, writes the Christian-oriented daily Trouw: "Where power is not evenly distributed, it is abused - sadly. In any such relationship the person in power can be tempted to abuse his position. Sexual abuse therefore occurs in all kinds of institutions, organisations and circles. The Roman Catholic institutions are not the only ones. … There are good questions to be asked on the subject of forcing people to abstain from physical intimacy, but to cite celibacy as the cause of sexual crimes is to oversimplify. It can play a role, but abolishing celibacy won't put an end to the abuse if the basis for it - the unequal distribution of power - remains intact." (15/03/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Germany, » Ireland, » Austria, » Netherlands, » U.S., » Global

The conservative governing UMP party led by French President Nicolas Sarkozy has lost the first round of the regional elections. The conservative daily Corriere della Sera comments on the low voter turnout and Sarkozy's weaknesses: "For Europe, which has once more placed all its hopes of growth in the German-French axis, the thought of weakened leaderships in both France and Germany is anything but soothing. Now of all times the EU needs a strong and solid power in Paris and Berlin, no matter whether centre-left or centre-right. Consequently the gradual breakdown heralded by the French regional elections, in expectation of a similar pattern at a continental level, is the worst imaginable scenario not just for France but for Europe as a whole." (15/03/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Elections, » France
All available articles from » Franco Venturini

Following the informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in the Finnish city of Saariselkä on the weekend the EU looks more like a loose alliance of states than a true community, the tabloid Iltalehti concludes: "The EU cannot be stronger than each of its members. At present the Union lacks a motor. The disputes within the new German government have weakened Angela Merkel. In France Nicolas Sarkozy is in a bad position politically and because of his private life. The UK is preparing for elections. In the Mediterranean region the problems extend from Spain to Italy and the catastrophe in Greece. The recession has hit many of the new member states. Here in Finland the milk strike has shown that one of the EU's key principles, the free circulation of goods, was never really recognised. … Things could hardly be any different in a community of 27 nations. Yet for more than half a century the EU has made progress on integration. It just needs perseverance - and common sense." (15/03/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Policy, » EU Constitution, » EU neighbourhood policy, » Finland

The United Nations has set up a supervisory committee to review the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC. The move comes in response to criticism that the Panel's statements tend to be exaggerated. But the dangers of global warming are real, writes the daily The Times: "The IPCC is not a self-selected group of scientists with a political agenda. It was founded in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organisation and the UN Environment Programme with a mandate to produce accurate, balanced assessments about human-induced climate change. ... Perhaps there is a criticism that can be made of IPCC scientists: they have been too slow publicly to defend their integrity. They have not been willing or able to hit the airwaves or make their case in newspapers. But scientists are now faced by powerful lobbies who are working to distort and discredit the science behind climate change." (15/03/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Environmental Policy, » Science / Research, » United Kingdom, » Global
All available articles from » John Houghton

For approximately eight months the centre-right party Gerb led by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has been governing Bulgaria. The weekly Kapital criticises the government's lack of resoluteness: "There is no common centre for economic policy to assess the risks of the system and manage them. On the contrary: the economic team looks more like a piece of clockwork whose wheels are all rotating in different directions. And once something starts to get stuck the prime minister stops them and tries to repair them manually. The greatest failing is the lack of reforms that, in view of the desire for a complete overhaul, should have cut budget spending. To avoid protests and social tensions Prime Minister Borisov personally froze the changes to the pension scheme and thus widened the gaps in the budget. … With its failure to take action the government ins turning into a crisis catalyst instead of having the contrary effect." (15/03/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » Bulgaria

The US needs Europe as a strong partner, writes lawyer and former conservative politician Antonio Hernández Mancha. To fulfil this task the European Union must adopt a federal structure as soon as possible, he contends in the left-liberal daily El País: "If Europe doesn't learn from the crisis and decide to take the same step towards a federal union the Americans took in 1789, the 'old Europe' will surely disappear as a political unit. It would just be a matter of time. The new-born Lisbon treaty will possibly have to be reformed on the path to advancing the Union. We need the US and the US needs Europe. The EU was viewed with suspicion on the other side of the ocean, above all after the heroic step of adopting the single currency. The fear was born that this Europe which North America had freed from two world wars could now become a terrible opponent with its euro. With the crisis this has changed and the US is realising that it cannot take on China alone. It needs us as a third pillar in the triangle to prevent a new Cold War between the two blocks." (15/03/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » EU Policy, » Europe, » U.S., » China
All available articles from » Antonio Hernández Mancha

The recent demands by Polish unions for pay rises are unrealistic, writes the conservative daily Rzeczpospolita, because the country's economic growth is not reflected in business profits: "True, you can't blame the unions when we keep hearing from the most important Polish politicians - namely Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski - that Poland's economic growth is the best in the European Union. ... And if everything really is so rosy why shouldn't we all get a pay rise, right? However businesses are not registering corresponding growth and so tend to take a more sceptical view of the politicians' affirmations. So we shouldn't fool ourselves into thinking that the current year will bring real pay increases commensurate with overall economic growth." (15/03/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Economic Policy, » Poland
All available articles from » Jakub Kurasz

A little less than six months before the construction of the country's largest Orthodox cathedral begins in Bucharest the Romanian Association of Architects has criticised the planned building, describing it as inappropriate. The daily Evenimentul Zilei takes a look at the Romanian Orthodox Church's response: "The Romanian Orthodox Church, BOR, plays with the Romanians' complexes in its argumentation. … What chances do the old Orthodox treasures have of being appreciated once the huge church has been built, the cost of which has been estimated at almost half a billion euros? The church leader [Patriarch] Daniel perhaps already has an answer to this question [its huge size], but it will only satisfy those who are proud to live in a city that is already home to the second-largest building [the former Ceauşescu palace] after the Pentagon, the largest hotel and the largest shopping mall in south-eastern Europe and so on. … The future cathedral will represent them perfectly, but they will also prove right … those who say that the Romanians worship opulence!" (15/03/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Architecture / Cities, » Religion, » Romania
All available articles from » Mirela Corlatan

Estonia on Sunday celebrated its yearly Estonian Language Day. The daily Postimees takes the opportunity to urge Estonians to be more aware of how they use their language: "In today's information society linguistic competence is not just writing correctly but also the ability to convey one's knowledge. But developing functional language skills barely plays a role in today's curricula, and yet not just teachers of Estonian with their language and literature classes, but all teachers should be ambassadors for our native tongue. ... Language is naturally also a living organism and in a changing world our language also changes. Words that had no meaning one generation ago are used by everyone today - but these should not just be loan words. Naturally we adopt words from other languages, but before we do so we should be thoroughly examine our mother tongue. … Preserving the purity of the mother tongue is not just the task of the authorities but is all our responsibility." (15/03/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Public Culture, » Cultural Policy, » Languages, » Estonia

A change of leadership in the Czech Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes (USTR) has caused a stir in the country. Following in the footsteps of Pavel Žáček, a former student leader from 1989, is Jiří Pernes, who had close ties to the former communist regime. The liberal daily Mladá fronta Dnes cannot approve: "The worst thing is that Pernes hasn't even said in recent weeks that he wants to continue making historical documents accessible to the public. He wants to turn the body into a 'normal historic institute' dealing with 'day to day life in totalitarian society'. What he fails to see is that in so doing he will be banalising reality. If we can no longer learn what means of repression the regime applied we will end up distorting history. But what we really need is an analysis of how it was possible to behave decently and say no under totalitarianism." (15/03/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » History, » Science / Research, » Remembrance culture, » Czech Republic
All available articles from » Monika MacDonagh-Pajerová

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has sold the two Latvian private broadcasters LNT and TV5 to Latvian businessman Andrejs Ēķis. The daily Latvijas Avīze warns that their quality could now deteriorate: "Ēķis, the lord of the airwaves, is proudly philosophising about how one politician is good while the other is bad, how he likes one party but doesn't like another. And he acts as if there was no democracy worth supporting. Show consideration in the election campaign? What for? And why? After all we have new programmes and independent experts to explain everything to us. But the view of the EU is that the state is obliged to organise the media sector in such a way that a society's needs for democracy, culture and information are satisfied. And every state has the right to pass the corresponding laws to ensure this. It is incomprehensible that Latvia is so stubbornly opposing this process and insisting on going its own way." (15/03/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Audiovisual Media, » Media policy, » Latvia
All available articles from » Aija Cālīte-Dulevska