UNITED STATES
OpEd News
By Mary Shaw
So now Pope Benedict XVI has retired, and the cardinals will be choosing a new leader.
Meanwhile, sentimental Catholics and others have been praising the now-former pontiff. They call him a holy man. However, in looking back through his record, I see much that is downright unholy.
Perhaps most obvious is his role in the cover-up of clergy sex abuse.
Back in 2001, when we still knew him as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the British press leaked a confidential letter from Ratzinger to all Catholic bishops ordering that “the church’s investigations into child sex abuse claims be carried out in secret,” and asserting “the church’s right to hold its inquiries behind closed doors and keep the evidence confidential for up to 10 years after the victims reached adulthood.” In other words, keep it all under wraps until the statutes of limitations expire. How “holy” is that?
In 2002, he discounted the whole issue, referring to the media coverage of clergy sex abuse as a plot to discredit the Church. How “holy” is that?
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