Voice of the faithful spokeswoman optimistic about Ratzinger!

The New York Times > International > International Special > For America's Divided Roman Catholics, a New Disagreement:

"Some groups critical of the church's handling of sexually abusive priests also said it was too early to draw conclusions. Suzanne Morse, communications director for Voice of the Faithful, which advocates a greater role for the laity in church governance, said that even when the new pope was a cardinal, his views on the abuse scandal were evolving.

Ms. Morse said that when the first accusations were made against priests, Cardinal Ratzinger 'seemed to think the problem was a media creation.' She added, 'But since then, we have seen small but significant signs that he has some sense of the scope of the clergy sexual abuse crisis.'"