Word: benedict
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...more than a month, Pope Benedict XVI's silence has been driving the clergy sex-abuse crisis. His reference on Thursday to the need of "penance" for the church, which is "under attack," is unlikely to stem criticism. But this week, the Vatican's No. 2 man, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, also took a stab at changing the narrative - and complicated matters...
...church's handling of clergy sex abuse. In the past week alone, besides the criticism over Bertone's comments, a priest in Massachusetts has suggested the Pope should resign, while two of the Vatican's harshest critics, anti-religious writers Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins, have called for Benedict's arrest when he arrives in Britain in September for a visit...
Vatican insiders say the brushup is the latest sign that the troubles in Rome run deeper than just the Pope's apparent difficulty in facing accusations about his role in the church's dark past on this issue. Blame often falls first on Bertone, whom Benedict plucked for the prime job in 2006, after the two had worked closely for many years in the Vatican doctrinal office. The Secretary of State job has enormous responsibility, essentially serving as Vatican Prime Minister, charged with making the wheels of the billion-strong church turn smoothly, while the Pope focuses on being shepherd...
...problems date from John Paul II's papacy, which suffered from a leader largely uninterested in administrative affairs and often away from headquarters, trotting the globe. That left Rome to the 20 or so Cardinals to vie for influence. The hope was that Benedict, who as Joseph Ratzinger was one of the most influential of the cadre of Vatican Cardinals, would whip the Roman Curia into shape. Instead, starting with Bertone, he chose to play defense. Says a longtime Vatican observer: "He knew the place well and saw a lot of long knives. He wanted loyalty above all else...
...weeks prior to Easter Sunday—the holiest day in the Catholic liturgical calendar—Pope Benedict XVI was preparing for an apology instead of a celebration. On Sunday, March 21, congregations throughout Ireland were read a letter authored by the Pope, which expressed his “shame and remorse” for the acts of child sexual abuse committed by priests in the nation. The Pope was responding to two reports released by Irish officials last year, which discovered frequent abuses in parochial schools and widespread efforts by ecclesiastical authorities to cover up these crimes. Ultimately...