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Saturday, April 3, 2010

Ratzinger's Responsibility: Scandalous Wrongs cannot be glossed over, we need a change of attitude/Hans Kung

http://ncronline.org/news/accountability/ratzingers-responsibility
Ratzinger's Responsibility
'Scandalous wrongs cannot be glossed over, we need a change of attitude'
Mar. 18, 2010
By Hans Küng
Accountability
"Is it not time for Pope Benedict XVI himself to acknowledge his share of responsibility, instead of whining about a campaign against his person? No other person in the Church has had to deal with so many cases of abuse crossing his desk. Here some reminders":

"...In his five years as Archbishop of Munich, repeated cases of sexual abuse at least by one priest transferred to his Archdiocese have come to light. His loyal Vicar General, my classmate Gerhard Gruber, has taken full responsibility for the handling of this case, but that is hardly an excuse for the Archbishop, who is ultimately responsible for the administration of his diocese.
In his 24 years as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, from around the world, all cases of grave sexual offences by clerics had to be reported, under strictest secrecy ("secretum pontificum"), to his curial office, which was exclusively responsible for dealing with them. Ratzinger himself, in a letter on "grave sexual crimes" addressed to all the bishops under the date of 18 May, 2001, warned the bishops, under threat of ecclesiastical punishment, to observe "papal secrecy" in such cases.
In his five years as Pope, Benedict XVI has done nothing to change this practice with all its fateful consequences.

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