Child Abuse Is Popes Road of Thorns, Bas Mesters, HRC Handelsblad, March 17, 2010

Child Abuse Is Pope's Road of Thorns

By Bas Mesters
HRC Handelsblad
March 17, 2010

http://www.nrc.nl/international/article2505831.ece/Child_abuse_is_popes_road_of_thorns

Pope Benedict XVI.

With each successive revelation, the spectre of child abuse comes closer to endangering the position of pope Benedict XVI.

Pope Benedict XVI has his own cross to bear on the way to Easter this year. Revelations of child abuse have deeply grieved the ecclesiastical leader, or so rumours emanating from the Vatican would have it. Every day seems to bring new scandals, as hidden crimes come to light in yet another country. Rampant child abuse was first revealed some years ago in the US and Australia, but now revelations in Ireland, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Switzerland have followed.

“As always, he has undergone the matter in the deepest of prayers and with understandable concern,” a close associate of the pope was quoted as saying in Italian daily La Repubblica. The German scandals, in particular, have upset pope Benedict, since they are encroaching ever more closely on him personally. Not only has the scale of the abuse led to disquiet and disappointment within the Vatican’s walls, there is also a great deal of worry over the damage this could cause to the German pope’s position.

Last week, the authoritative Suddeutsche Zeitung revealed that a paedophile priest, referred to as “Brother H.”, had been transferred to the diocese of Munich in 1980. Benedict, then still known as Joseph Ratzinger, was archbishop in the same city. Brother H. was supposed to undergo therapy there, but was allowed to serve in a pastoral capacity again, a position he promptly abused to resume his paedophile activities .

In an attempt to control the damage caused by this revelation, father Federico Lombardi, a spokesperson for the Vatican, responded to the allegations immediately. “Everything has been cleared by the diocese of Munich,” he announced on Radio Vatican. “The vicar-general, mgr. Gerhard Gruber, has assumed all responsibility,” he added. According to Lombardi, Ratzinger was not involved in the decision to allow Brother H. to reassume pastoral duties. The priest in question was suspended earlier this week.

A plot against the pope?

That the Vatican has been driven on the defensive is aptly demonstrated by Lombardi’s bitter insinuations of a possible ecclesiastical plot against the pope. “It's rather clear that in the last days there have been those who have tried, with a certain aggressive persistence, in Regensburg and Munich, to look for elements to personally involve the Holy Father in the matter of the abuses," he told Vatican Radio."For any objective observer, it's clear that these efforts have failed," he added.

Lombardi called it an “unlikely coincidence” that the news broke on the same day the prelate of the Catholic church in Germany, Robert Zollitsch, received papal permission to start an investigation into the reported abuse.

Pope Benedict, the Vatican emphasised, could not be held responsible for the physical abuse of boys in the choir led by his brother in Regensburg. Benedict should also not be held accountable for the suspected child abuse that took place in Ettal abbey, which falls under the diocese of Munich, Ratzinger’s former seat as archbishop.

A growing number of people are now leaving the Roman Catholic church in Germany, and the Vatican is starting to worry about the effect the paedophilia scandals could have on priest recruitment. Last Monday, in anticipation of World Youth Day which will be held on March 28, the pope asked young people not to be afraid to engage in religious life. “Do not fear, dear boys and girls, when the Lord calls you to a religious, monastic or missionary life. He gives great joy to those courageous enough to answer His call!” the pope said.

An old enemy of ‘filth’

The greatest tragedy for pope Bendict is that he has come under fire for a policy he had already condemned before becoming pope. In the week before his election to the papacy in 2005, he referred to priests who abused their positions as “filth”.

The pope's change of heart came at the beginning of the last decade. The stories of the American abuse victims and growing pressure from his associates at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith made him realise that the cover up of scandals - for which he had long been responsible as the Congregation’s prefect – was a disastrous position. Ratzinger has since visited the Australian and American victims of paedophile priests to apologise on behalf of the Church. Bishops have been sacked and damages paid to the victims.

Now Benedict sees himself confronted yet again with the Church’s filth, this time in Europe, the continent he holds so dear. Shortly after his installation, he declared Europe a missionary area. As Ratzinger is well aware, if he is to stop the decline in church attendance and vocations to the priesthood, he will need to eradicate the “cancer of child abuse” as it is referred to within Vatican circles. He can only hope the process of eradication within the Church’s ranks and the related inquiries will not yield any more evidence that can hurt him.

Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini tried to put the matter into context in the Italian weekly Genter, saying, “the Church has known darker years. In the end, the Church is now present in all countries worldwide, something which has never been the case before.”