Ex-pope Benedict blames everyone but himself and the Catholic hierarchy for the horrific sexual abuse scandals

… sexual abuse debacle not a problem of “Catholic theology” or Vatican II

Some Catholics worldwide were shocked when they learned that former Pope Benedict, who resigned almost a decade ago, is being accused of criminal behavior for the coverup of the sexual abuse of young people by a priest in his diocese in Germany in the 1970s. 

They should not have been. 

Josef Ratzinger had been covering up for the abuse for decades, first as an archbishop and then as a cardinal and as a pope. He and John Paul II have presided over the worst coverup of clerical sexual abuse of young people in the history of the church — and that is the reason that the number of practicing Catholics has plummeted. 

Now, with the new revelations, his reputation has been shattered.

Yet, just a few years ago, the ex-pope wrote that the problem of sexual abuse in the church was the fault of everyone but those at the top. He released a letter that claimed that the relaxation of moral standards in the church were to blame — not the people who presided over the coverups. Translated, “It is Vatican II’s fault.”

Yet, the coverup of the sexual abuse in the United States lies at the feet of the hierarchy appointed by those two popes. 

His letter

The breakdown of this crisis can be broken into two crimes: Those who committed the abuse, and those who covered it up. They go hand in hand,

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has broken six years of relative silence with the release of an outspoken letter on the clergy sex abuse scandal. Benedict's analysis differs significantly from that of his successor, Pope Francis, and thus leaves the world's Catholics with contrasting papal perspectives on the greatest crisis facing Roman Catholicism today.

In his 6,000-word essay, published Thursday in the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, with an English translation by the Catholic News Agency, Benedict blames the epidemic of clergy sex abuse largely on a collapse of moral standards in the 1960s and the subsequent failure of Catholic leaders to uphold traditional church teaching.

"It could be said," Benedict writes, "that in the 20 years from 1960 to 1980, the previously normative standards regarding sexuality collapsed entirely." Among the changes, in Benedict's view, was that pedophilia became seen as "allowed and appropriate," and pornography became widespread and accepted. The priesthood, meanwhile, fell into crisis.

"Catholic moral theology," Benedict writes, "suffered a collapse that rendered the Church defenseless against these changes in society. 

Tom Gjelten, “Pope Benedict Breaks 6-Year Silence To Comment On Clergy Sex Abuse Scandal,” NPR, April 11, 2019

Note that he identifies that time of the problem from 1960-80, which completely overlooks the fact that the majority of the coverup of the abuse took place from 1970 to 2013, and JPII took over in 1978 and he was the enforcer who looked the other way as bishops like Law in Boston moved criminals from one parish to another.

 

So, Catholic moral theology was at fault? Exactly how did that work?

Pedophilia vs. homosexuality

Part of Ratzinger’s difficulty for this can be traced back to the church’s difficulty in handling homosexuality and the problem in realizing that the abuse came from pedophilia, not same-sex relationships. Since most of the abuse was focused on young boys, some Catholics tried to blame homosexuality for the abuse crisis. 

However, that is not true. Jerry Sandusky was apparently heterosexual, yet he abused boys. Why is that the case?

Though Benedict stops short of blaming gay priests for the epidemic of minor abuse, as some have, he claims that "homosexual cliques" were established "more or less openly" in Catholic seminaries, thus changing the seminary climate in such a way as to contribute to a breakdown in the preparation of priests for their ministry.

Benedict has espoused similar views previously, both as a cardinal and as pope, but in the six years since stepping into "emeritus" status, he has largely kept silent and let Pope Francis speak for the church. 

Tom Gjelten, NPR, April 11, 2019

Numbers of practicing Catholics in U.S. are down

Pope Francis has attempted to get these scandals under control, but those in the U.S. who have shady backgrounds in this like Cardinal Timothy Dolan in New York and former Philadelphia archbishop Charles Chaput are darlings in the conservative movement in the U.S. 

While the numbers of people in the U.S. who still identify as Catholics has not plummeted, the numbers of those who are practicing are down significantly. 

That is not due to Vatican II or a lack of moral theology. It is because of the loss of character of the Catholic hierarchy who have failed to discipline the priests who are criminals. 

That, ex-cardinal Ratzinger, is your fault, not that of the seminaries that are training priests. It is a lack of character and morality on the part of those at the highest levels of the Catholic Church.