GlobalPost
Timothy McGrath
November 18, 2013
This week GlobalPost showed why so many people are digging on Pope Francis. He loves the sick and the poor. He lives a simple life that reflects his values. He has criticized the Catholic church for its alienating obsession with social issues. And he has called out global capitalism for the greed it has produced and the social devastation it has wrought.
Sounds good? Not so fast.
Here are some reasons we should think twice before hopping on the Pope Francis bandwagon. …
2) Poor handling of the Church’s child sex abuse crisis
Francis has made some headway on the child sex abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. He’s spoken out on the problem and instituted some new laws governing Vatican officials and employees.
That’s a start, but there is much more to be done when it comes to putting words into actions.
This is especially true in Latin America, where some have questioned Francis’ handling of molestation cases in Argentina, Chile, the Dominican Republic and Peru.
He has been largely silent on four shocking cases.
1. Dominican Republic: When the Vatican discovered that its envoy in the Dominican Republic was paying underage boys for sex, it responded by secretly firing him.
2. Peru: More secret and non-transparent handling of child sex abuse has taken place in Peru, where an auxiliary bishop went on the lam after child sex allegations against him surfaced. The Vatican’s only action was, again, to secretly dismiss him from his post. The Archbishop of Lima, Juan Luis Cipriani, even criticized journalists covering the story and said that the abuser deserved “mercy.”
3. Chile: When a congressional committee began investigating sexual abuse at Catholic children’s homes, the Archbishop of Santiago refused to appear before the committee. He bravely claimed separation of church and state, despite the fact that Chile’s agency for child welfare partly subsidizes the homes. Quite a show of strength from the Vatican’s top dog in Chile.
4. Argentina: In Francis’ home country, an imprisoned priest, Father Julio Cesar Grassi, is now appealing his 15-year sentence for sexually abusing boys. You’d think a convicted and imprisoned child rapist in the Pope’s home country would offer a low-risk opportunity for the Vatican to take a strong stand against child sex abuse in the church. Not so. One bishop in Argentina has openly claimed that Grassi is innocent, and the archdiocese released a statement pointing out that of 17 charges leveled against Grassi, he had been found not guilty of 15. Great.
So when we applaud Pope Francis for his vocal opposition to poverty, inequality, and global capitalism, we should remember the pernicious things he’s not opposing as vocally.
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