VATICAN CITY, April 9 (UPI) -- Pope Benedict XVI "is available for new meetings" with victims of sex abuse by priests, a Vatican spokesman said Friday.
The Rev. Federico Lombardi said on Vatican Radio the pope has had previous meetings with abuse victims both at the Vatican and during visits to Australia and the United States.
In recent weeks, the scandal has come close to the pope with allegations that as Cardinal Josef Ratzinger he allowed priests charged with sexual misconduct to be quietly transferred.
Lombardi said the church needs "transparency and rigor" in dealing with the problem.
"The Pope has written that he is available for new meetings," Lombardi said. "Apart from the attention we must pay to the victims, we must pursue co-operation with the relevant civilian judicial and penal authorities, in line with the legal and other situations in each country."
Last month, Benedict apologized to Catholics in Ireland, where two government reports detailed a long history of physical and sexual abuse of children. But the Vatican has also blamed the news media for exaggerating the scandal with one priest suggesting the church is a victim of persecution comparable to what the Jews have suffered.
