Crimes and Religion
Given his appalling historical record regarding sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, I find it nothing short of ironic that Pope Benedict XVI arrived in the United States just days after 400 children were taken into legal custody amid charges of sexual abuse after a raid on a cult compound in Eldorado, Texas.
By the U.S. bishops' count, more than 5,000 priests have been credibly accused of abusing about 12,000 children in the United States since 1950. The church has spent $2 billion on legal claims, six dioceses have declared bankruptcy, and hundreds of priests have been removed.
So what is Benedict’s record regarding sexual abuse charges in the Catholic Church?
On May 18, 2001, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger wrote a letter in Latin to bishops around the world, asserting the church's right to hold its inquiries on sexual abuse behind closed doors and keep the evidence confidential for up to 10 years after the victims reached adulthood.
In 2002 Ratzinger told the Catholic News Service that he thought that the media was responsible for making the Catholic Church look bad and that the media was driving the pedophile priest scandal.
In June 2004, a lawsuit was filed accusing Ratzinger of participating in a conspiracy to cover-up the sexual abuse of three children in Houston, Texas. Benedict faced claims that he had obstructed justice in issuing the 2001 order ensuring the church's investigations into child sex abuse claims be carried out in secret.
Ratzinger had also been accused of ignoring for seven years charges that Fr Marcial Maciel, the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, had sexually abused nine teenagers in his organization because Maciel was a close friend of Pope John Paul II
On December 24, 2005, a federal judge granted permanent immunity to Ratzinger in the Houston, Texas abuse case because he was now Pope Benedict XVI.
As Pope Benedict XVI, Ratzinger appointed San Francisco Archbishop William Levada, who once shielded a pedophile for 9 years, as his successor as guardian of church doctrine.
Unfortunately, the ugly story of sexual predators and those who protect them under the guise of religion continues.
By the U.S. bishops' count, more than 5,000 priests have been credibly accused of abusing about 12,000 children in the United States since 1950. The church has spent $2 billion on legal claims, six dioceses have declared bankruptcy, and hundreds of priests have been removed.
So what is Benedict’s record regarding sexual abuse charges in the Catholic Church?
On May 18, 2001, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger wrote a letter in Latin to bishops around the world, asserting the church's right to hold its inquiries on sexual abuse behind closed doors and keep the evidence confidential for up to 10 years after the victims reached adulthood.
In 2002 Ratzinger told the Catholic News Service that he thought that the media was responsible for making the Catholic Church look bad and that the media was driving the pedophile priest scandal.
In June 2004, a lawsuit was filed accusing Ratzinger of participating in a conspiracy to cover-up the sexual abuse of three children in Houston, Texas. Benedict faced claims that he had obstructed justice in issuing the 2001 order ensuring the church's investigations into child sex abuse claims be carried out in secret.
Ratzinger had also been accused of ignoring for seven years charges that Fr Marcial Maciel, the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, had sexually abused nine teenagers in his organization because Maciel was a close friend of Pope John Paul II
On December 24, 2005, a federal judge granted permanent immunity to Ratzinger in the Houston, Texas abuse case because he was now Pope Benedict XVI.
As Pope Benedict XVI, Ratzinger appointed San Francisco Archbishop William Levada, who once shielded a pedophile for 9 years, as his successor as guardian of church doctrine.
Unfortunately, the ugly story of sexual predators and those who protect them under the guise of religion continues.
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