Jamie Doward's April 24, 2005 Guardian column, "The Pope, the letter and the child sex claim," closes with the assertion that the reign of Benedict XVI may well be judged in relation to the sexual crimes and criminals long cloistered by the Vatican, and indeed Joseph Ratzinger himself. As the current Pope departs, the time is full for a summation of these crimes as well as these criminals.
As consequence of the courage and tenacity of the victims -- of which there are as many as ten thousand, according to the John Jay College report-- an indictment of the church's top-most offices may now be assembled.
For years, rarely a month has passed without some new and lurid disclosure thickening the already rotten stench of a closed-rank institution obsessed with its self-preservation. In January we were informed of the Cardinal Roger Mahony's removal from duties and the release of priest files which contain the "terribly sad and evil" acts (as Archbishop Gomez termed them) committed throughout the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
This latest revisiting of a decade-long, international outrage recalls what is perhaps the most notorious case of Boston's then Archbishop, Bernard Law, whose cover-ups of child rape led to disgrace and resignation late in 2002. Since that time many thousands of allegations have issued, and a disgusting pattern of institutional obfuscation and evasion, guided from the very top, has emerged.
The rot did not begin with the Holy See's current Pontiff, as Gratian's De Poenitentia shows. An internal discussion over management of sexual crimes -- or sins, if you prefer -- has run across the centuries. What has changed is the capacity of the Catholic Church and its agents to appoint themselves the exclusive judge and jury. Of this depraved and failed effort, let the public record show that Joseph Ratzinger was a leading proponent.
Modern-day policy derives from Vatican documents of the 1960s. Having anticipated a public scandal, the church under John Paul II initiated an internal investigation, under the auspices of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith -- an office earlier known as the Roman Inquisition and placed in 1981 under the Prefect Ratzinger. Doward's two Guardian columns of April 24 -- the second is titled "Pope 'obstructed' sex abuse inquiry" -- capture the tone and substance of the present Pope's effort to contain the uncontainable, by deferring to the long-standing policy of secrecy and silence, "under the penalty of excommunication" for renegade priests.
For as long as possible, the Vatican enforced the secrets. For as long as possible, senior officials arrogated to themselves the roles of judge and jury. When these efforts collapsed soon after 2000 under the weight of public disclosure, scrutiny and outrage, Ratzinger charged the crimes to the accounts of secularism, asserting that "pedophilia was theorized as something fully in conformity with man and even with children." Suddenly the church, that sacred chalice from which alone flowed the absolute knowledge of beauty and moral rectitude and God's Truth, was simply an unwitting victim of moral relativism.
The truth, however, is more nuanced than that, and less amenable to the Vatican's propaganda. Whatever one may say of moral relativism, it happens that every step forward, under Benedict XVI, was compelled by secular pressure. Once the multiple defensive tactics had failed, apologies were issued and commitments to doing better were made.
In Ireland, the church was compelled by law to report crimes to secular authorities, while in Canada a flood of lawsuits brought lawyers for the Catholic entities into negotiations of the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement.
Meanwhile, the disgraces of both Bernard Law and Roger Mahony were rewarded by Ratzinger with rich appointments -- in particular to the Roman Curia, the central governing body of the Catholic Church. Both Law and Mahoney participated in the Papal Conclave which selected the now-retiring Vicar of Christ, as Mahoney will do once again in the choosing of a successor. Also participating in the 2005 enclave was Ratzinger-ally and Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who in 2010 characterized abuse allegations as "petty gossip of the moment" and who seven years earlier had intervened on behalf of the convicted sexual abuser Marcial Maciel in an effort to shut down the investigation.
With filth such as this at the very core of the Vatican, we should not be surprised that above all imperatives obtains a cardinal injunction to somehow renew and revive an institution caught in the act. Ratzinger's Pastoral Letter to the Catholics of Ireland, for example, dwells pitifully upon the tribulations of the Roman Church in the late 1600s, inadvertently reminding us of a more recent Ireland and more recent sacrifices of children to the same sordid religious tribalisms.
Joseph Ratzinger not only failed to renew the Catholic church -- he created the very conditions which will make a meaningful renewal improbable.
http://itccs.org/2013/02/13/pope-benedict-resigned-to-avoid-arrest-seizure-of-church-wealth-by-easter/
Here's the link, bayoe. Read it and weep.
All religions are male dominated cults.
One thing that cannot be disputed is that Jesus was never a Christian ...All those who claim they are Christians,are merely readers of a bible written years after his death from various sources, and who consistently interpret it to suit themselves.
Many strong christians are hypercrites and run down other religions.. ( how christian of them)
Yes, "man" interpreted the bible to suit themselves.
I pray that the anger that lies in your heart does not inspire hatred in the hearts others who are searching for answers during this difficult age in our humanity.
Like the Pharisees, inspiring public hatred towards Jesus, did so for their own personal benefit and gain.
I am truly saddened for your fears and those like yourself who express those fears through anger, hatred and misunderstanding.
Catholic church is a church based on a religion made up by man. It is in no way the teachings of God but the teachings of a group of men that want control. Just like all religion.
Faith does not equal religion. Faith inspires. Religion kills, condemns and alienates.
There are always those in any organization that use human fear to control others. Equally, there are those that empower others through love. It's true of religion, governments, businesses, families and spousal relationships.
It is the individual's who abuse their power who should be held accountable, not the institutions themselves.
I pray that whatever pain and fear that lies within your heart, will one day be healed with love and understanding. Your article demonstrates that you have allowed hatred to penetrate your being, and your vilification of the Roman Catholic Church and its leaders, and its 1 billion members is very sad indeed.
You criminalize the leaders of the Church for the actions of a few. Do you also accuse the US government for every murder that has taken place in America? Do you hold the same disdain for every European who came to Canada and acquired the lands of First Nations people?
I am truly saddened for such misgotten hatred. It can only damage your heart and your capacity for love and compassion.
On the Pope acting criminally, we, the general public, do not have all the facts to determine criminal action. The court of public opinion has already convicted the Pope, which is currently unjust If and when he has been legally judged to have acted criminally, then the Pope to should deal with the consequences.
So please do not jump to conclusions.
I do not however believe there is cause for hatred in any situation, and I cannot stand by and watch the media espouse and promote hatred because they have both the channel and right to say whatever they want.
thanks from a greatfull, observing Canadian [not catholic or any religion] - still aware of the potential GOOD Spirit in everyone .
I do not and never will condone what has happened in the catholic church but after all, just because they wear the religious clothing doesn't make them saints There are freaks everywhere and not just in this church organization