Emeritus Pope Benedict Emerges and Defends His Abuse Record

By Nicole Winfield
Salt Lake Tribune
September 24, 2013

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/56914277-80/benedict-letter-pope-vatican.html.csp

Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has emerged from his self-imposed silence inside the Vatican walls to publish a lengthy letter to one of Italy’s most well-known atheists. In it, he denies having covered up for sexually abusive priests and discusses everything from evolution to the figure of Jesus Christ.

Excerpts of the letter were published Tuesday by La Repubblica, the same newspaper which just two weeks ago published a similar letter from Pope Francis to its own atheist publisher.

In this Saturday, March 23, 2013 photo provided by the Vatican paper L'Osservatore Romano, Pope Francis, left, meets Pope emeritus Benedict XVI in Castel Gandolfo Saturday, March 23, 2013. Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has emerged from his self-imposed silence inside the Vatican to publish a lengthy letter to one of Italy's most well-known atheists. In it, he defends his record on handling sexually abusive priests and discusses everything from evolution to theology to the figure of Jesus Christ. Excerpts of the letter were published Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013 by La Repubblica, the same newspaper which just two weeks ago published a similar letter from Pope Francis to its own atheist publisher. The letters indicate the two men in white, who live across the Vatican gardens from one another, are pursuing a collaborative campaign of sorts to engage non-believers. (AP Photo/Osservatore Romano, Files)In this Saturday, March 23, 2013 photo provided by the Vatican paper L'Osservatore Romano, Pope Francis, left, and Pope emeritus Benedict XVI pray together in Castel Gandolfo. Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has emerged from his self-imposed silence inside the Vatican to publish a lengthy letter to one of Italy's most well-known atheists. In it, he defends his record on handling sexually abusive priests and discusses everything from evolution to theology to the figure of Jesus Christ. Excerpts of the letter were published Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2013 by La Repubblica, the same newspaper which just two weeks ago published a similar letter from Pope Francis to its own atheist publisher. The letters indicate the two men in white, who live across the Vatican gardens from one another, are pursuing a collaborative campaign of sorts to engage non-believers. (AP Photo/Osservatore Romano, Files)

The letters indicate that the two men in white — who live across the Vatican gardens from one another — are pursuing an active campaign to engage non-believers. It’s a melding of papacies past and present that has no precedent and signals that the popes — while very different in style, personality and priorities — are of the same mind on many issues and might even be collaborating on them.

Benedict wrote the letter to Piergiorgio Odifreddi, an Italian atheist and mathematician who in 2011 wrote a book "Dear Pope, I’m Writing to You." The book was Odifreddi’s reaction to Benedict’s classic "Introduction to Christianity," perhaps his best-known work.

In his book, Odifreddi posed a series of polemical arguments about the Catholic faith, including the church’s sex abuse scandal. The former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger headed the Vatican office responsible for abuse cases, and was pope when scandal erupted in 2010, with thousands of people coming forward in Europe, Latin America and beyond saying they had been molested by priests while the Vatican turned a blind eye.

In his letter, Benedict denies personal responsibility, saying: "I never tried to cover these things up."

"That the power of evil penetrated so far into the interior world of the faith is a suffering that we must bear, but at the same time we must do everything to prevent it from repeating," he wrote, according to Repubblica.

While Vatican officials have long insisted that Benedict did more than anyone in the church to confront the problem of abusive clergy, Benedict’s letter marked the first time he himself had publicly denied personal responsibility for the scandal.

Benedict became the first pope in 600 years to resign when he retired Feb. 28, setting the stage for the election of Francis two weeks later. Benedict said at the time that he would spend his final years "hidden from the world," living in a converted monastery tucked behind St. Peter’s Basilica, reading and praying.

Benedict’s decision to cloister himself was in part due to his own shy, bookish nature, but also to make clear that he was no longer pope and that his successor was in charge.