Auburn Journal
April 9, 2010
http://my.auburnjournal.com/detail/146913.html
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| Cardinal Groer of Austria |
Allegations have surfaced that the late pontiff John Paul ll blocked an investigation of a pedophile cardinal, promoted senior church officials despite allegations they had raped children, and covered up innumerable cases of sexual abuse of children during his 26-year papacy have cast a cloud over his path to sainthood.
The most serious claims concern Hans Groer, the Cardinal of Austria and a close friend of John Paul. Groer sexually abused an estimated 2,000 boys for decades, but was never hindered by Rome. The Groer affair became public in 1995 when former pupils of an elite Catholic school accused him of sexual abuse. Groer was never punished and some of his victims were offered “hush money” by the Church.
Michael Tfirst, 54, one of Groer’s victims, claims to have reported Groer's pedophilia to high ranking church officials after attempting suicide in despair. He says the church paid him "hush money" to sign a contract that required his silence. “There is no question that Ratzinger knew all the details of reports on abuse within the church, as there is no doubt that John Paul, his superior, took part in a massive and systematic cover-up,” Tfirst said.
John Paul also faced criticism last week from Poland for protecting Archbishop Juliusz Paetz, who was accused of abusing trainee priests. Letters detailing the charges were sent to John Paul’s office and also to Ratzinger, but they were ignored. Paetz resigned in 2002 when the allegations were made public.
Stanislaw Obirek, a Polish theologian and a former Jesuit priest, said: “I believe John Paul is the key person responsible for the cover-up of abuse cases because most of it occurred during his papacy. How can someone who is to blame for this be beatified?”
The spiralling allegations have prompted a siege-like mentality in the Vatican. Fr.Federico Lombardi, Benedict’s spokesman, declined to comment. “We’re busy with Easter celebrations” he said.
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