ALACHUA (FL)
Alachua Today
February 2, 2020
By Robert Wilford
Dear Most Holy Father:
Thank you for attempting to humanize the office of pope.
The majority of Catholics have blindly viewed pontiffs as God-like and incapable of making mistakes because of being infallible.
Your actions, so far, do give me hope. I pray you will lead us toward renewal (retaining the good stuff), reformation (discarding the bad stuff), and rebirth (uncompromising justice and renewed spirituality).
I first contacted John Paul II in 1993, and again in 2002. I contacted Benedict XVI several times during his papacy.
I challenged them to reform an indifferently corrupt and a conspiracy-driven theocracy for the innumerable crimes the hierarchy had committed for centuries.
Mandated priest celibacy, the murder of Joan of Arc, persecution of Martin Luther, imprisonment of Galileo, unjust inquisitions and crusades and the coddling of clergy sexual predators are examples of the church’s abuse of power.
The current crisis is attributable to the disreputable leadership of John Paul and Benedict for not putting the needs of victims first over predator priests.
John Paul and Benedict shamefully elected to shelter sodomizers and the institution of Catholicism itself above all else.
I urge you to stand on your perch at Saint Peter’s this Ash Wednesday and declare:
“We, the popes, cardinals, bishops and priests of the Roman Catholic Church have been grievously and sinfully wrong since the very beginning of the church’s history in protecting predator priests at the expense of the victims of clergy sexual abuse. Humbly, we openly admit our culpability, and, in professing our shame, ask for forgiveness from God and all humanity for the unspeakable crimes we have committed against victimized children and their families for nearly 2,000 years.”
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