was long ignored, kept quiet or silenced." The Pope said the church was developing a "zero tolerance" policy on abuse (which he called "crimes") and cover-ups. Vatican spokesman Greg Burke emphasized that the Pope's apology is not specific to any geographic area. "Pope Francis has written to the people of God and that means everyone." Relations between the Vatican and American Catholics According to John Allen Jr., Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, cultural differences between the Vatican and American Catholics complicated the process of formulating a comprehensive response to the sexual abuse scandal. Allen asserted that the sexual abuse crisis illustrated that "there is a lot about the American culture and the American Church that puzzles people in the Vatican, and there is much about the Vatican that puzzles Americans and English speakers generally." See also Jeffrey Lena, the lawyer representing the Vatican in the US Liber Gomorrhianus Church related: Criticism of Pope John Paul II Sexual abuse scandal in the English Benedictine Congregation Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors Pontifical secret VIRTUS Homosexuality and Roman Catholic priesthood Anti-abuse: National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) General: Institutional abuse Religious abuse Spiritual abuse References History of the Roman Curia