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	Eye of the Storm: the Vatican Responds to Allegations; Area Catholics Support Pope Marietta Times April 13, 2010 http://www.mariettatimes.com/page/content.detail/id/521079.html?nav=5002 For now, area Catholics support Pope Benedict XVI and think calls for him to resign are unfair. DeGearld Bailey, 53, of 817 Fourth St., Marietta, is one of those in the pope's corner. Bailey said the Catholic Church could divulge information about sexually abusive priests in a quicker and clearer manner, but he doesn't think the pope should resign since he didn't have anything to do with the cover-up of a sexually abusive priest. "You can't blame somebody for not knowing something," Bailey said. "I think he's done a good job so far." The uproar has been caused by reports that, as an archbishop years ago in Germany and later as a Vatican cardinal, Benedict and his aides were slow to defrock abusive priests. Melissa and Elbert Deskins, of 303 Snearly Drive, Marietta, support the pope. "My Catholic faith is very important to me and my family," said Melissa Deskins. "We believe in everything the pope has to say. I think it's unfair that they want him to resign." Elbert Deskins said if Benedict knew about the abuse and actually tried to cover it up, then some repercussions should come his way, whether that's through resigning his post or other means. "If he participated in the cover-up and knew about these allegations, then yes," Elbert said. "But I don't know that he did." In the history of the Roman Catholic Church, only a few popes have resigned. For believing Catholics, the pope is more than the chief executive for the worldwide church. He is the successor to St. Peter and vicar of Christ on earth who is expected to serve until death. At the Vatican and among many Catholics globally, calls for the pontiff to resign in the media and from lay people are viewed as a hate-fueled campaign against the entire church and its theology. According to that outlook, resigning would mean surrendering to public forces who wish to destroy the church. This view is particularly strong among observant Catholics in Europe, where society has become increasingly secular and many pews stand nearly empty at Mass. Popes can resign or be deposed; however, such occurrences are so rare that the idea of a modern-day pontiff stepping down is hard to grasp. Canon 332:2 of church law states that if a pontiff resigns, "it is required for validity that the resignation is made freely and properly manifested but not that it is accepted by anyone." Nicholas Cafardi, a canon lawyer and professor at Duquesne University Law School, who was chairman of the U.S. bishops' child protection board, says the canon is meant to underscore the idea that the pope alone can decide whether to step down. Past popes who quit served mostly in the church's first millennium, according to Christopher Bellitto, a church historian at Kean University in New Jersey. Pope Celestine V resigned in 1294, shortly after taking the papal office. The last time pontiffs resigned or were deposed was during the Great Western Schism of the late 14th and early 15th centuries when three papal lines competed, Bellitto said. The issue was raised again when Pope John Paul II became increasingly debilitated by Parkinson's disease. Still, John Paul stayed in the job until his death five years ago. One major worry is that if a pope retires, it could split the church into factions, with some Catholics following the former pontiff instead of the current man in the job. "Like those who sit on America's Supreme Court, the appointment is for life," said Bellitto, author of "101 Questions & Answers on the Pope and the Papacy." "Unlike the justices, papal retirement or resignation is a rare act, indeed." The most recent claims against Benedict came last Friday, after The Associated Press obtained documents showing that as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, head of the Vatican's doctrinal orthodoxy office, Benedict had resisted pleas in the 1980s from a California diocese to laicize a priest who had pleaded no contest to lewd conduct for tying up and molesting two boys. In a 1985 letter, Ratzinger acknowledged the accusations were grave but said laicization required careful study and more time. A U.S.-based attorney for the Vatican, Jeffrey Lena, said the case proceeded swiftly, "not by modern standards, but by those standards at the time." As the latest crisis over clergy sex abuse erupts across Europe, additional revelations about Benedict's past actions could arise that would undermine his authority and create new pressure for him to step down. However, few analysts believe he would ever quit. William Portier, an expert on Catholic theology and the church at the University of Dayton, a Marianist school in Ohio, reflects the views of Catholics who see no reason for Benedict to even consider giving up his post. Portier said the church's understanding of sex abuse moved through phases - from a moral issue that was a matter of confession, to a mental illness that required counseling, to a crime. He said the cases that have become public so far show Benedict acting according to the protocol at the time. "No one wants to hear that," Portier said. "It's possible in principle for the pope to resign, but I don't see any reason that's serious enough that would make him resign." Justin McIntosh contributed.
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