Brisbane Archbishop Defends Pope

Brisbane Times
February 12, 2013

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/brisbane-archbishop-defends-pope-20130212-2eads.html

Retiring Pope Benedict XVI wasn't the best governor but he did a huge amount to address child sexual abuse in the church, Brisbane's Archbishop says.

The 85-year-old Pope announced his decision to step down during a meeting of Vatican cardinals on Monday morning (local time), saying age prevented him from carrying out his duties.

Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge says it's "simply wrong" to suggest the retiring Pope didn't do enough to address the abuse issue.

He said before he became Pope, he had pursued the issue with then Pope John Paul II.

"To say that this Pope has done nothing I think just flies in the face of what I take to be the facts," the archbishop told ABC TV.

"Has he done enough? No, none of us has done enough.

"But that he has done a remarkable amount, both before he was Pope and as Pope, I think is undeniable."

"I think Pope Benedict has been superb at teaching, he's been superb at that area that we call sanctifying, (but) governing probably hasn't been his greatest strength."