BishopAccountability.org
	Local Catholic Scholar Weighs Priest Sex Crisis in Europe By John Ostapkovich KYW March 16, 2010 http://www.kyw1060.com/Local-Catholic-Scholar-Weighs-Priest-Sex-Crisis-in/6585503 PHILADELPHIA (PA) -- A ballooning scandal involving allegations of sex abuse by Catholic priests in Germany brought Vatican contention over the weekend that this is a failed attempt to connect it to the Pope. But a Catholic scholar says the crisis has its roots far in the past. See Related AP Story There have been about 300 reports of priestly abuse in Germany since January. Investigators and reporters alike have been trying to see if the German-born Pope was involved in dealing with accused priests in any way. Leonard Swidler, professor of Catholic Thought & Interreligious Dialogue at Temple University, says the particulars of these cases get caught in the top-down structure of the church: "This is a systemic problem, not specifically and only relating to this question of clerical pedophelia, but rather the secrecy and the authoritarian structure of the Catholic church coming from the time of Constantine in Imperial Rome, forward." Professor Swidler hopes for a more Democratic Catholic church and says the man who became Pope used to think the same way. Swidler was once a guest religion faculty member at a German university which put out a special publication on potential post Vatican II reforms: "Yes, bishops can and should be elected by the clergy and laity that they serve, and secondly, yes, there can be and should limited term of office. This is signed by all of the faculty which not only included Professor Hans Kung but also Professor Joseph Ratzinger." Kung, maintaining his liberal leanings, is banned by the Vatican from teaching Catholic theology. Ratzinger left the liberal wing of the church and is now Pope Benedict XVI.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.