HOUSTON (TX)
The Trumpet
WORLDWATCH: VATICAN March 2006
In 2002, scandal erupted surrounding Catholic priests’ sexual assaults on children—or, as Pope John Paul ii put it, the way church leaders “are perceived to have acted.” The victims, and the world in general, demanded answers, wondering how a religious organization could allow such a problem to become so widespread.
The Vatican’s response was dismissive at best—notably, that of then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.
With 2005 drawing to a close, Pope Benedict xvi found himself the target of a civil lawsuit. He was personally accused of conspiring with the archdiocese of Galveston-Houston in Texas to cover up the abuse of three boys in the mid-1990s. His legal defense? Diplomatic immunity.