The argument is:
Cardinal Ratzinger says that the standards of democratic civil society do not apply to the church.
'Standards of conduct appropriate to civil society or the workings of a democracy cannot be purely and simply applied to the Church.'
The Taoiseach Enda Kenny says: I am making it absolutely clear, that when it comes to the protection of the children of this State, the standards of conduct which the Church deems appropriate to itself, cannot and will not, be applied to the workings of democracy and civil society in this republic.
Ratzinger's response: The Holy See expects the Irish Bishops to cooperate with the civil authorities,
to implement fully the norms of canon law.Basically the Holy See is placing it's rules and regulations, AKA canon law, ahead of the laws of democratic society.
The Taoiseach's riposte to that was to welcome the Holy See's commitment to dialogue and co-operation with the Government. "In welcoming this commitment, the Government expects the fullest co-operation from the Holy See, the Catholic Church in Ireland and all other relevant bodies with a view to ensuring that Ireland is a society fully safe for children and minors and that all of those with responsibility for
the welfare and care of children in this country are fully subject to Irish laws and requirements,"Points to note:
Mandatory reporting of child abuse is STILL forbidden by the Church's canon law rules.
Ratzinger, when head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), personally investigated 3,000 cases of child abuse, and he did not refer ANY of those cases to the civil authorities nor did he recommend to the bishops, in authority over the abusing clergy, to pass the cases on to the civil and legal authorities in their respective countries.
The Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) is the office in the Vatican that ignored requests from the Murphy Commission for cooperation into its inquiry. They never even bothered to acknowledge the Murphy Commission's requests.
Some of the information the Murphy Commission requested may reference Ratzinger's role in the cover-up of child abuse by clergy. It is more than likely that Ratzinger handled several cases of child abuse from Ireland.