BishopAccountability.org
	Cardinal: Pope Benedict Said What Bishops Can't Chicago Tribune April 18, 2008 http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/religion_theseeker/2008/04/pope-benedict-s.html What can the pastor and moral authority for 1 billion Roman Catholics say about the clergy sex abuse scandal in the American church? Answer: Anything he wants to. In an interview on Friday, Cardinal Francis George said Pope Benedict XVI articulated a point that bishops have wanted to make ever since the clergy sex abuse scandal rocked the church. That is, the sexual abuse of minors is not a problem exclusive to the priesthood. It is a symptom of moral relativism--a central theme of Pope Benedict's pontificate. But experts say one consequence of the crisis is that bishops have been stripped of the clout and moral authority to say that. "We have avoided scrupulously as bishops trying to excuse ourselves in any way by saying well this is a societal problem," George said. "Others have said that and I think it is true ... Those were his original words: 'What does it mean to protect children when you live in a society with rampant pornography with all kinds of manifestations of violence?' "Children are victims of all this," George continued. "If you're going to address this, address society. [Bishops] haven't felt free to say that because it looks like we're letting ourselves off the hook. But he's free to say it and he did and not at our prompting." George said the pope's consistent acknowledgment of the pain caused by the scandal--he mentioned sex abuse on each of the first three days of his trip and met privately with victims--should not come as a surprise. It reflects the pastoral side of the pope's efforts to warn his flock about the dangers of moral relativism. But, George suggested, even though the pope does not believe pedophiles are exclusive to the priesthood, he does believe predatory priests are particularly egregious. As a champion of teaching moral theology in terms of absolutes, the pope believes pedophile priests emerged from a seminary system that did not teach morality in terms of black and white. "How is it possible for somebody to think he can do this?" George said. "It's absolutely forbidden in any moral system to ever abuse a child. That's an example of what happens when your standards somehow get twisted. It was not a very large number of priests. We all know that. But it should not have been any. That's what he said. Priests are supposed to teach clearly: 'What are the absolutes that God wants us to live by?'"
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.