Admonition to Bishops
The scandal that just keeps on going. A result, most surely, of not having been adequately addressed at a much earlier date. On the other hand, how might it have been, given that the Church hierarchy saw its obligation to covering up the abuse of children by priests, and securing its own reputation, in the process aiding and abetting the needs of the rogue priest, permitting the fate of their victims to fall by the wayside, regrettable victims of misfortune."You have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry ... I openly express the shame and remorse that we all feel", graciously declaimed the Shepherd of Christ. "I can only share in the dismay and sense of betrayal that so many of you have experienced on learning of these sinful and criminal acts and the way the church authorities in Ireland dealt with them."
Nonetheless, the ingrates are not satisfied; the church and its leading light have not been sufficiently brought to their abject knees of true regret. He failed to adequately condemn the bishops who were implicated in those mass incidents of nasty cover-up and to re-order traditions. Evasion of responsibility. "We feel the letter falls far short of addressing the concerns of the victims", said one Irish group leader.
After all, is that not the major concern? Having failed the victims to begin with at the time when they needed the concern of the church, the focus now should be on doing absolute penance, admitting unequivocally the rot that set in at every level of church management. "It must be admitted that grave errors of judgement were made and failures of leadership occurred.
"All this has seriously undermined your credibility and effectiveness", Pope Benedict said, chastising Irish bishops over the clumsy ineffectiveness and lack of concern over the past handling of abuse and pedophilia cases in their parishes. But wait, what of claims that Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger was placed in charge of the "Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith".
Which department, formerly in charge of the Inquisition, was charged by Pope John Paul II of investigation of child rape and torture by Catholic priests back in 2001. Where Cardinal Ratzinger ordered that investigations must be maintained within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Church. News of the crimes of rape and torture were to be kept from public notice under penalty of excommunication. Secrecy was paramount.
Service to the victims of rape a mere by-product of concern, and little compassion therefore extended in the greater interests of forestalling the disaster that revelation of these occurrences would impose upon the Church. And now Pope Benedict can turn his attention to damping down the crises arising through new revelations emanating from Europe.
Labels: Human Relations, Human Rights, Political Realities
posted by Pieface @ Tuesday, March 23, 2010
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