VATICAN CITY
Deutsche Welle
Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI [pictured left] has published a lengthy letter denying he covered up reports of sexual abuse by priests.
Benedict’s comments were made in an 11-page letter to Piergiorgio Odifreddi, an Italian atheist and mathematician who in 2011 wrote a book about the problems facing the Catholic Church before the pope resigned.
Excerpts of the letter were published in the Rome newspaper La Repubblica on Tuesday.
In the book, Odifreddi poses several arguments polemical arguments about the Catholic faith, including the sex abuse scandal that has plagued the Church. …
Meanwhile, victims’ groups have rejected Benedict’s denial and accuse him of not doing enough to stop the abuse of children by priests during his time at the Vatican.
In response, The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), released a statement saying: “In the Church’s entire history, no one knew more but did less to protect kids than Benedict.”
The crisis came to light in Boston in 2002 when media began reporting on cases of abuse that were systematically being covered up.
As a result, the Church has set up new guidelines such as how to deal with cases of past abuse, prevent new cases and report abuse to police.
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