Pope Benedict just can't seem to bring himself to admit how devastating the clerical abuse scandal has been for Catholicism in the West. Nor can he bring himself to face the fact it was far more a product of his own clerical culture than it was society.
. . . There's a part of me that can easily understand why Benedict is having trouble facing up to this scandal. It really does betray the priesthood on a very fundamental level and he has given virtually his entire life to a very idealistic version of the priesthood. This betrayal . . . has to be something like a dagger to his own heart, but the fact is his own history has its moments when he was the one holding that dagger. And that is the problem with the clerical culture. It seems to be able to compel otherwise good men to do very bad things in order to protect the magical/fantastical notions of the priesthood.
Recommended Off-site Links:
Benedict on Clergy Abuse Situation: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back – William D. Lindsey (Bilgrimage, December 21, 2010).
What Victims Hear in Pope's Talk on Sex Abuse – Thomas P. Doyle (National Catholic Reporter, December 21, 2010).
See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
The Real Crisis
Quote of the Day - April 28, 2010
Authentic Catholicism: The Antidote to Clericalism
Now We Know
SNAP Responds to Cardinal Bertone
A Clerical Leadership Unresponsive to Voices of Reason
The Roman Catholic Pyramid is Crumbling
An Offering of Ashes
Eugene Kennedy on Roman Catholicism's "Post-Hierarchical Blues"
Genuine Authority
Beyond Papalism
This was an excellent article.
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