Pope allegedly had abusive priest transferred

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Saw this article in the local paper this morning.

VATICAN CITY -- Germany's sex abuse scandal has now reached Pope Benedict XVI: His former archdiocese disclosed that while he was archbishop a suspected pedophile priest was transferred to a job where he later abused children.

The pontiff also is under increasing fire for a 2001 Vatican document he penned instructing bishops to keep such cases secret.

The revelations have put the spotlight on Benedict's handling of abuse claims both when he was archbishop of Munich from 1977-1982 and then the prefect of the Vatican office that deals with such crimes -- a position he held until his 2005 election as pope.

And they may lead to further questions about what the pontiff knew about the scope of abuse in his native Germany, when he knew it and what he did about it during his tenure in Munich and quarter-century term at the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The article also says that the Pope didn't actually know about the priest and his problems, and that the transfer was arranged by the Vicar General. Another case of "...well the Pope himself didn't know."

[Joe Chi Minh]

1. An interesting remark made by "one of the bishops closest to Benedict",

quoted in the Guardian article on the subject, linked below:

"He (Muller) lashed out at Germany's justice minister, Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, who had talked of a Catholic wall of secrecy. Müller said she belonged to a humanist association which he claimed was a kind of "masonry" that "considers paedophilia normal and wants to decriminalise it".

Cold comfort to Benedict's exultant critics, hideous though the clerical cover-up culture has been.

www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/13/vatican-defends-po...

[47of74]

2. Here's a working link

Here's a link to that article that works.

They must have plenty of swords to fall upon over there.

[Joe Chi Minh]

3. I expect others would have been resourceful enough to find it, but

thanks for making the effort to post it.