Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Excellent NCR Article about Pope Benedict and the Sexual Abuse Crisis in Germany

This National Catholic Reporter article by John L. Allen, Jr., "Will Ratzinger's past trump Benedict's present" is a very extensive analysis of the history of the sexual abuse scandal in the Church and how the Vatican has reacted to the scandal in the past and the present. I think it is a fair article and an important one. It begins:

"Gino Burresi may sound like the name of a shortstop from the '50s, but among Vatican insiders, it marks a watershed in the sexual abuse crisis. For those with eyes to see, the fall from grace of Burresi, a charismatic Italian priest and founder of the Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, shortly after the election of Pope Benedict XVI, was taken as a signal that the days of lethargy and cover-up were over.

Burresi, 73 at the time, was barred from public ministry in May 2005, just one month after the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to the church's top job. While the decree cited abuses of confession and spiritual direction, Vatican sources were clear that accusations of sexual abuse involving Burresi and seminarians, dating to the 1970s and '80s,were a principal motive for the action against him....."

I would like to have your comments on this article...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

ordain women and let priests get married and you won't have this problem.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
ordain women and let priests get married and you won't have this problem.


Yes, let's be thankful that no married men have ever abused children or that married female school teachers haven't been caught having sex with their students.

Steve said...

The problem is a clerical culture where secrecy and conformity are more important than veracity or virtue. As long as personal loyalty is more important than ability and sanctity nothing will change. We need an honest discussion about the all-male, supposedly celibate clergy.