The statements by Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone have undermined the promising efforts of the Vatican, writes the daily La Libre Belgique: "The Vatican's approach was positive and unique because no other official body has ever done so much on this issue. By publishing its response as well as the measures it intends to adopt against paedophile priests on its official site and a blog (!), the Catholic Church chalked up many points against the recurrent criticism being levelled at it. The message was all the more laudable in that it named Benedict XVI in the first line, thus breaking the silence on the issue that cast a shadow over the Easter weekend. And now all of a sudden everything's back to square one. ... One does not envy the position of spokesman Federico Lombardi or those in local churches who will have to rectify this note of discord." (14/04/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Global
All available articles from » Christian Laporte

The sexual abuse in the Catholic Church has structural causes according to the daily Sydsvenska Dagbladet: "This is not an environment that naturally encourages the openness and transparency that facilitate the correction of anomalies. Strictly hierarchical, authoritarian, dominated by males, conservative and secretive, this is not a recipe for success for an organisation trying to win people's trust and confidence. If the Catholic Church is to have a chance of stopping these despicable and systematic attacks it must realise that its own structure and organisation can play a key role. Unfortunately the representatives of the church have yet to demonstrate this understanding of their own malaise." (15/04/2010)

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The daily The Guardian finds the attempt by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone to cite the homosexuality of some priests as the major cause for child abuse in the Catholic Church silly and unfounded: "Homosexuality is about orientation - same-sex attraction. Sex abuse of minors is about malformed sexual orientation, immaturity and power. ... Are those priests paedophiles? No - although the damage they cause is considerable. Are they homosexual? Possibly - but not healthy ones. And to claim that their homosexuality is a cause of their abusing is as daft as suggesting that paedophilia is linked to heterosexuality." (15/04/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Religion, » Weltanschauung, » Global
All available articles from » Austen Ivereigh

More than 2,000 people gathered on Wednesday in Poland to protest at the Church authorities' decision to bury the presidential couple in Wawel Cathedral in Krakow. The conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung sympathises with the demonstrators: "Władysław Sikorski, head of the Polish government in exile during the Second World War, was only transferred to the Wawel Cathedral in Krakow in 1993, fifty years after his death. ... Before Sikorski the remains of the founder of the nation and national hero Józef Piłsudski, who died in 1935, came to rest in the Polish nation's pantheon. And even in his case the final decision to transfer his remains to the Wawel was preceded by a two-year dispute about a suitable final resting place for the belligerent (and not very pious) statesman within the Church. So it's no wonder the decision to bury the tragically killed President Kaczyński in the Wawel has sparked (piously subdued) criticism. It wouldn't have occurred to anyone to place him among the kings and spiritual heroes of the past when he was still alive." (15/04/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Remembrance culture, » Poland
All available articles from » Stefan Dietrich

The Spanish public is following two court cases with great interest: firstly the well-known examining magistrate Baltasar Garzón is standing trial, and secondly a ruling on Catalonia's statute of autonomy is due. The two cases will put the judges to the test, writes José María Carrascal in the conservative daily ABC: "We are in the week of Justice, with a capital J. And the mere thought sends a shiver down your back because justice is the law of gravity of the constitutional state. If it fails, chaos will reign. A country can survive without a government, without a parliament, without media, but it cannot live without justice. ... However I cherish the hope that the grave situation in which the Spanish judiciary finds itself, the danger of being absorbed by the other powers of state and even by the masses on the streets, will lead the true judges to react, to set aside their ideological differences and agree to sweep away all the rubbish that has been emptied on their patio by those who want to deprive them of the maximum honour in any monarchy or republic: that of being the interpreters of the law." (15/04/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Social movements, » Spain
All available articles from » José María Carrascal

The election financing scandal has plunged Finland's political system into a profound crisis of confidence. The best way to tackle this would be to move forward the elections planned for next April, writes the daily Kaleva: "There's no end in sight to the uproar over the election money. The situation has already engendered profound doubts among citizens about the motives of politicians' activities: which financier's cause is this politician defending? It would be false to claim that the country is led by a gang of bribed decisionmakers. But distrust in the decision-making processes is so great that it is no exaggeration to talk of a crisis in confidence and to question the legitimacy of the system. ... Not even the difficult economic situation can justify waiting for next spring to hold the election. The country is emerging from the recession. The economic crisis is over. But the political one is worsening." (15/04/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » Finland

Many people are talking about a political shift to the right after the elections in Hungary, but more important is the lack of reformers in the new parliament, the Slovakian liberal daily Sme writes: "There won't be anyone there to state clearly and openly that the public finances must be radically reformed and the economy freed from the bureaucratic jungle. No one to say that the curtailment of tax evasion and the abuse of public funds will be painful, and that many people who were considered untouchable until now will be stripped of their privileges. ... All one hears from the parties is that the central power must be strengthened and that the state must create work. ... The lack of reformers is worse than the success of the extremists, and could make the latter even more popular in the four years to come." (15/04/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Elections, » Hungary
All available articles from » Peter Morvay

Jean-Paul Sartre, the father of existentialism, died 30 years ago today. He was one of France's most eminent philosophers and also played a defining role in political debate. Michela Marzano bemoans the lacking commitment of today's intellectuals and calls in the left-liberal daily La Repubblica for people to model themselves on Sartre once more: "What remains of intellectual engagement if reality belies the ideologies? Even if for years French intellectuals preferred to be 'wrong' with Sartre over being 'right' with Raymond Aron or Albert Camus, history has triumphed over Sartre. The 'end of the ideologies' that Camus predicted has buried the myth … of committed intellectuals. But not even Camus could have predicted the void that defines public debate today. The intellectuals have abdicated for good: some of them have retreated to their ivory towers; others have made compromises with those in power or with the world of show business. No matter how inconvenient Sartre's legacy may be, we must not bury it entirely. The need for each one of us to find our own way to freedom is still present today. As is the call on intellectuals to courageously show commitment to the world in which they live." (15/04/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Philosophy, » Remembrance culture, » France, » Global
All available articles from » Michela Marzano

The economy ministers of Romania, Georgia and Azerbaijan signed on Wednesday a declaration of intent on the construction of two terminals for transporting liquid gas from the Caucasus. Laura Cernahoschi writes in the blog Voxpublica that the project constitutes a serious alternative to the Nabucco and South Stream pipelines: "After interminable regional infighting over Nabucco and Southstream and in view of the modest progress of both projects this is now the first step toward a project easier to implement in both economic and geo-political terms. ... Gas obtained in Azerbaijan will be liquified and shipped from Georgia to Constanţa where it will turned back into gas again. This dispenses with the need to install material in the Black Sea, the wait for Turkey's approval and the fear of rebel movements in the Caspian Region. ... It was clear from the start that the Russians aren't happy with the plan. ... They immediately declared their intention to build a similar terminal in Turkey." (15/04/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Energy, » Economic Policy, » Russia, » South East Europe, » Romania, » Georgian Republic
All available articles from » Laura Cernahoschi

Founding a family in today's Hungary is akin to economic suicide, writes literary scholar Betti Varga in the opinion portal Komment.hu: "It is a commonplace that today Hungarian women must choose between children and a career. But here 'career' doesn't necessarily mean a position of leadership, business trips to Japan or a German company car. No, for the most part it means just a normal job. When a woman comes back to her job after a two-year break she's lost value as an employee in the eyes of her boss: on the one hand she can't work overtime, and on the other she's frustrated by the inflexible daycare system. On top of that she's away on sick leave far more often as her children are frequently ill. ... So it's not uncommon that young mothers find themselves out of a job when they return from maternity leave. As we know it takes an average of 18 months to find a new job in Hungary. But how many Hungarian families can afford to get by for a year and a half on just one income?" (14/04/2010)

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While the crash of the Polish government plane in which part of the country's political elite perished is just one of many catastrophes that have afflicted the Polish people, it does not help to wallow in the past, Magda Jelonkiewicz writes in the daily The Irish Times: "The young generation of Poles do not want to wallow in suffering any more. They do not want to speak of fate, of God's will and a curse of the Katyn Forest. It is a tragic coincidence that President Lech Kaczynski died in an air crash on April 10th on his way to honour the 22,000 officers murdered by Stalin's secret police in 1940. But let's focus on the future, not the past - this is the common plea of my generation." (15/04/2010)

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More from the press review on the subject » Demographics, » Remembrance culture, » Poland
All available articles from » Magda Jelonkiewicz

The non-profit news portal Pro Publica on Monday became the first online medium to win the renowned US Pulitzer Prize for a disclosure story. In his blog Del Alfiler al Elefante Lluís Bassets dreams of the rebirth of investigative journalism: "We've seen many things and we'll see many more. We are seeing them now, for example the rebirth of journalism. Hopefully we won't merely be passive spectators but agents and agitators in its triumphant return to serving the public interest. ... Pro Publica is an alternative that has emerged in the face of the crisis in journalism and its devastating impact on the quality of newspapers, in particular the lack of funding available to investigative journalism." (15/04/2010)

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All available articles from » Lluís Bassets

The police and the city of Rotterdam have announced extremely strict security measures in anticipation of rioting by football fans during the Dutch Cup final between arch rivals Feyenoord Rotterdam and Ajax Amsterdam. The left-liberal daily De Volkskrant writes that under such conditions it's better to cancel the event: "The costs are provisionally being put at one million euros. But that's assuming there will be no other damages during the state of emergency. ... A million euros is roughly 125 euros per Ajax fan. Football is paid love. ... Are we in Baghdad here? Has anyone seen a 'Green Zone' in Rotterdam? Have we gone totally mad and accepted that football is the same as hatred? ... [The Rotterdam stadium] De Kuip will only be half-full because 'security zones' have been set up: a no man's land between two fronts in a football stadium. We must see this lunacy for what it is and say no to it once and for all. Strike the final from the calendar." (15/04/2010)

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All available articles from » Bert Wagendorp