BishopAccountability.org
	Pope Calls German Protests " Normal in a Free Society" Monsters and Critics September 22, 2011 http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1664429.php/Pope-calls-German-protests-normal-in-a-free-society Berlin - Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday shrugged off planned demonstrations by German leftists against his visit to Germany, telling reporters on the plane carrying him to Germany that protests were 'normal in a free society.' He also voiced understanding for the attitude of rejection towards the church felt by some victims of sexual abuse by priests and their families. 'I can understand that... they may say 'This is not my Church. The church is a humanizing and moralizing force and if (clergy) themselves do the opposite, I cannot be with this church',' he said. On the opposition he faces in Germany, where Catholics are a minority, he commented, 'This is normal in a free society,' adding he had nothing against protests carried on 'in a civil manner.' 'I come to Germany with gladness,' he added on the plane. 'I was born in Germany. My roots cannot and must not be cut off.'
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