VATICAN: Senior Vatican spokesman, Dr Joaquin Navarro-Valls, yesterday implicilty denied recent US media speculation that the embattled Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston would soon be moved to the Vatican to take up the position of Prefect to the Congregation of the Divine Cult.
Dr Navarro-Valls was speaking at a Vatican news conference, held for the release of an apostolic letter, "On Certain Aspects of the Celebration of the Sacrament of Penance" and attended by both Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, and the current head of "Divine Cult", Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina Estévez.
Although the news conference was intended to focus on the correct understanding and administration of the Sacrament of Penance (confession), reporters asked about the US Catholic Church's current sex abuse scandal. In particular, Cardinal Medina was asked if it were true that he would soon be replaced by Cardinal Law, currently under intense pressure to resign his post in Boston.
In reply, Cardinal Medina said: "I'm not a prophet. I could die tonight but I have no idea who my successor will be. I just hope to leave him my desk tidy and in good order".
At that point, Dr Navarro-Valls intervened to say: "I can confirm that the Holy Father has asked Cardinal Medina to stay at his post for some time yet".
In theory, Cardinal Medina is now in line for retirement, since he is 75 years old and thus past the compulsory age for retirement from clerical office. In practise, Pope John Paul II often leaves "over-age" cardinals in key Vatican posts for some while until a suitable successor can be found.
Asked about the significance of last week's Vatican summit between the Pope, Curia and US cardinals regarding the US sex abuse crisis, Cardinal Ratzinger expressed the view that the meeting had been fruitful, saying: "It was an opportune and fraternal meeting that allowed us to understand both [US and Curia\] viewpoints. We got to better understand the overall situation, the roots of the problem and the correct responses".
Cardinal Ratzinger also confirmed that the US bishops will hold a day of "public penance" on June 7th, Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, calling it "a public act that will take account of the sins committed at a certain time and in certain sections of the clergy".
The Pope also stressed in the apostolic letter the traditional view of the need for Catholics to confess their sins to be forgiven - but said some habitual sinners could never be absolved.
Miriam Donohoe, Asia Correspondent adds: The Catholic Church has been hit with a new sex abuse controversy with the revelation that three Hong Kong Catholic priests who abused children in their care never had their cases referred to the police.
The priests were found guilty in internal church hearings of sexually abusing children over the past 27 years.
The South China Morning Post newspaper reported yesterday that one of the priests was suspended, one was moved to duties not involving contact with children, and the third was forced out of the Church. It is not clear if the priests were Chinese or foreigners.
The paper quoted Cardinal John Baptist Wu Cheng-chung, the head of the church in the territory, as confirming the three cases had taken place over the past quarter of a century. The cardinal was not more specific about the actual incidents, the latest in a growing list of sexual abuse reports around the world which have shaken the Catholic Church to its foundations.
Cardinal Wu was quoted as saying the three offenders were required to do penance. Families of the victims received apologies and were offered financial help from the Church, the paper said.