Kenya: Taming Growing Excesses of the Church in the 21st Century

By Muthende NduucuDaily Nation
Daily Nation
February 7, 2012

http://allafrica.com/stories/201202071013.html

For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, and people should seek the law from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But you have departed from the way, you have caused many to tumble at the law; you have corrupted the covenant of the law.

The words above were spoken thousands of years back by prophet Malachi in the last book of the Old Testament, lamenting about priests' behaviour towards the law. Now, as then, Malachi's words ring true if recent controversies around the Church are anything to go by.

For instance, a case is headed to the International Criminal Court in the Hague seeking to "take action and prosecute the Pope for direct and superior responsibility for the crimes against humanity of rape and other sexual violence committed around the world."

A group calling itself The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), which is headed by lawyer Pam Spees, says the Pope and three high-ranking Vatican officials, all Cardinals, are "responsible for rape and other sexual violence, and for the physical torture of victims around the world both through command responsibility and direct cover-up of crimes".