Quiet ex-pope emerges at exactly the wrong time

SANTA FE (NM)
The New Mexican

April 16, 2019

Emeritus Pope Benedict picked a strange moment and an unfortunate topic to return to the public eye — just before Holy Week, writing about the scandal of sex abuse in the Catholic Church and choosing to blame the 1960s for the sins of the church.

The Catholic Church, as with any human institution, has a history of misdeeds that dates back to its very founding, well before the swinging ’60s. Among those — and we can never forget the Inquisition — are abuse of children, the faithful, nuns and others by priests in holy orders. Over the years, such sins were covered up by bishops and the hierarchy because, sadly, institutions seem more intent on protecting themselves than caring for people. That is just a fact of human nature and human history.

What makes abuse by priests and subsequent cover-ups so horrific, of course, is that the institution hiding the sin is supposed to represent Jesus on this Earth, showcasing the gospel through its actions. The Catholic Church seeks to teach, to set an example and to show humanity how good Christians are supposed to live.

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