1963 letter suggests Vatican knowledge

LOS ANGELES: A letter sent in 1963 to Pope Paul VI by a senior American priest who outlined the "problem of the problem priest" suggests that the Vatican was fully aware - or at least should have been aware - of the extent of sexual abuse within the United States Catholic Church almost five decades ago.

The missive, unearthed and made public yesterday by lawyers representing victims of alleged sexual abuse in Los Angeles, argued even then that the best solution for dealing with priests found to have violated young men and boys was to defrock them, rather than shuffle them to other dioceses, as was the practice of the Catholic Church for so long.

The Rev Gerald Fitzgerald penned the letter at the behest of Pope Paul VI after meeting him in Rome to discuss cases of abuse in the US.

Lawyers for abuse victims in California sought to underscore the significance of the 1963 letter to Pope Paul VI. "The letter proves Vatican officials knew about clergy abuse decades ago and should have done more to protect children," said Anthony DeMarco.

However, officials for the Catholic archdiocese in Los Angeles said it was highly unlikely that Pope Paul VI ever even saw Fitzgerald's letter. "The fact is the prevailing ideas at the time about how to deal with abusive behaviour were not adequate ..." said a spokesman.

- INDEPENDENT