Tumultuous times in the faux country on the banks of the Tiber

from HuffPost:


Christopher Brauchli
Lawyer

The Nuns, the Butler and the Pope
Posted: 06/08/2012 12:04 pm


Anybody can be pope; the proof of this is that I have become one. ~ Pope John XXIII, Letter to a young boy


He's two for three. Earlier appearances to the contrary notwithstanding, there are things that can really upset Pope Benedict. Abuse of children isn't one of them. Nuns and press commentary on perceived internecine warfare are. Benedict's indifference to tales of sexual abuse is well known. Cardinal Bernard Law serves to make the point.

Cardinal Law was Archbishop of Boston from 1984 to 2002. During his tenure many priests under his supervision engaged in inappropriate conduct with children. Although told of the abuse, he did not act on the information. In December 2002 he tendered his resignation as Cardinal and moved out of the $20 million church-owned house in which he had been humbly living, as befitted a man of the cloth. The house was sold to help pay for the judgments entered against his diocese because of the sexual abuse. Two years later the Pope appointed him Archpriest of St. Mary Major Basilica, one of the four most important basilicas in Rome where he was in charge of the administration of the priests and anything related to the basilica.

As archpriest he reportedly receives a monthly stipend of about 4,000 Euros a month, an amount that permits him to walk humbly with his God yet live fairly well. Upon learning of the transfer, Mitchell Garabedian, a Boston lawyer who represented more than 130 victims of sexual abuse by priests under Cardinal Law's supervision, said: "The Vatican either doesn't understand the problem of clergy sex abuse, or it doesn't care." No one will say that about the most recent events. The Pope clearly cares. One involves his administration and one involves nuns.

In January 2012 documents were leaked to the press (perhaps by the Pope's butler) that disclose, among other things, power struggles over management of the Vatican Bank and corruption in the awarding of contracts that cost the Vatican millions of Euros. Responding to the leaks Benedict showed himself to be sufficiently concerned that he appointed a commission of cardinals to investigate the leaks but also saw fit to blame the media for the scandal. At the end of his general audience on May 31 he said: "Nonetheless there has been increasing conjecture, amplified by the communications media, which is entirely gratuitous, goes beyond the facts and presents a completely unrealistic image of the Holy See." Even more upsetting to Benedict than the media's portrayal of the Vatican corruption was the outlandish behavior of some renegade nuns in the United States. ................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-brauchli/the-nuns-the-butler-and-t_b_1578925.html