Should Pope Benedict resign?

Vatican goes into battle for Benedict as sexual abuse crisis deepens

Spokesman says Pope knew nothing about reassigning paedophile priest

By Michael Day in Milan

In Pope Benedict's native Germany, an online editorial by Der Spiegel newspaper called on the pontiff to quit. "In 1996, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which he then led, decided not to punish the paedophile priest Father Lawrence Murphy. With his authority eroded, why does he even remain in office?" it said.

Under Church regulations it is possible for a pope to step down without asking for permission. But it is virtually unheard of – the last papal resignation, that of Pope Celestine V, came 700 years ago. The Vatican dismissed any suggestion that Benedict would resign.

In Britain, the Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, said that as pope, Benedict had introduced changes into Church law to protect children. And, with Catholic votes in mind ahead of this weekend's regional elections, senior Italian politicians stepped in yesterday to defend Benedict.

The Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said in a statement: "It's an attempt at muck-raking at all costs that's obscuring the truth and that forgets the courage with which he has confronted this dramatic and delicate problem."

However, the Corriere della Sera newspaper, in an editorial, warned: "The worst choice for (the Church) would be to scream about international conspiracies by secular society."

But there was a growing consensus among Italian commentators yesterday that the daily tide of allegations meant it was not yet possible to say how serious the final damage would be to the Church and the Pope.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/vatican-goes-into-battle-for-benedict-as-sexual-abuse-crisis-deepens-1928742.html

The Fallibility of the Infallible Pope

By Peter Wensierski

Allegations that Pope Benedict XVI may have had detailed knowledge about instances of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church continue to mount. In 1996, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which he then led, decided not to punish the pedophile priest Father Lawrence Murphy. With his authority eroded, why does he even remain in office?

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Since 1982, Ratzinger had been responsible for that part of the Vatican which deals with cases of sexual abuse. Who, other than he, was responsible for the Church's path?

You can rename Ratzinger "Benedict," SPIEGEL wrote in the face of the euphoria over the German pope that spread here after his election to the papacy in 2004, but you can't take Ratzinger out of the pope. Since then, as pope, he has done more damage to his church than good. He has strained relations with Jews several times, he played with fire in relations between Christians and Muslims with his Regensburg address, he angered the indigenous people during his Latin America trip, he has alienated Protestants and he has shown himself to be conciliatory to Holocaust deniers.

Even loyal Catholics have been stunned by the course of action he has taken. And now, on top of all that -- one area where he has been consistent over the decades has been in his negligence in dealing with pedophiles within his own institution.

In Ireland or America, bishops have had trouble stepping down -- even in cases in which their cover-up had been uncloaked. And in Germany, not a single bishop has taken the fall for the serious mistakes made by the Catholic Church there.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,685712,00.html

Cardinal Ratzinger was told of pedophile priest transfer (Catholic News)

Published: March 26, 2010

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, as archbishop in Munich, was copied on a memo that informed him that a priest, whom he had approved sending to therapy in 1980 to overcome pedophilia, would be returned to pastoral work within days of beginning treatment.

The priest was later convicted of molesting boys in another parish, the New York Times reports.

An initial statement

by the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising placed full responsibility for the decision to allow the priest to resume his duties on Cardinal Ratzinger's deputy, Monsignor Gerhard Gruber.

But the memo, whose existence was confirmed by two church officials, shows that the future pope not only led a meeting on Jan. 15, 1980, approving the transfer of the priest, but was also kept informed about the priest's reassignment.

What part he played in the decision making, and how much interest he showed in the case of the troubled priest, who had molested multiple boys in his previous job, remains unclear, the paper says.

But the personnel chief who handled the matter from the beginning, Fr Friedrich Fahr, "always remained personally, exceptionally connected" to Cardinal Ratzinger, the church said.

http://www.cathnewsusa.com/article.aspx?aeid=20295

Pope’s brother Georg Ratzinger: I slapped choir pupils

Wednesday, 10 March 2010

The brother of Pope Benedict has admitted he slapped pupils in the face at a German school where he led the choir, but said he had been unaware of the brutality of the discipline there.

Rev Georg Ratzinger (86) made the comments to a German paper yesterday following charges of sexual and physical abuse in Catholic schools in the Pope's native Bavaria.

“Pupils told me on concert trips about what went on. But it didn't dawn on me from their stories that I should do something. I was not aware of the extent of these brutal methods,” he told the Passauer Neue Presse.

“If I had known about the excess of force... I would have said something. I ask the victims for forgiveness.”

Rev Ratzinger led the “Domspatzen” (Cathedral Sparrows), the official choir for the Regensburg diocese, from 1964 to 1994. “At the start, I also slapped people in the face, but I always had a bad conscience,” he said.

Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/popersquos-brother-georg-ratzinger-i-slapped-choir-pupils-14713042.html#ixzz0jOjhr6Wv