By Jeff Neumann
The Gawker
June 27, 2010
http://gawker.com/5573791/the-pope-is-shocked-that-belgian-laws-apply-to-priests
On Thursday, Belgian police raided Catholic church offices and the tombs of two cardinals searching for evidence in child sex abuse cases against priests in the country. The Vatican was very upset that some priests were treated like actual people, and were subjected to searches in a criminal investigation involving their colleagues. And today, Pope Benedict sent a message to Brussels Archbishop Andre Joseph Leonard expressing his dismay at the "deplorable methods" used in carrying out Belgian law. From the BBC:
I want to express, dear brother in the Episcopate, as well as to all the Bishops of Belgium, my closeness and solidarity in this moment of sadness, in which, with certain surprising and deplorable methods, searches were carried out."
"I hope that justice will follow its course while guaranteeing the rights of individuals and institutions, respecting the rights of victims, (and) acknowledging those who undertake to collaborate with it."
You see, the Pope is actually worried about the victims in the sex abuse cases, not just his pals in the Brussels Cathedral. And the Vatican's secretary of state chimed in, too, comparing modern Belgium to "old communist regimes":
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican Secretary of State, described the detention of priests "serious and unbelievable".
"There are no precedents, not even under the old communist regimes," he said.
So if Belgium is a big, bad godless commie state, what does that make the Vatican? A theocratic nest of child molesters and real estate fraudsters?
Contact: jeff@gawker.com
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.