So far in his celebrated visit to America, His Holiness has expressed shame and regret for the massive sex abuse scandal and the way it was handled. But he also said it was sort of America's own fault.According to Breitbart: ...He urged efforts "to address the sin of abuse within the wider context of sexual mores" as well as a reassessment of "the values underpinning society."
"What does it mean to speak of child protection when pornography and violence can be viewed in so many homes through media widely available today?" the pontiff said on the first full day of his US visit.
"Children deserve to grow up with a healthy understanding of sexuality and its proper place in human relationships. They should be spared the degrading manifestations and the crude manipulation of sexuality so prevalent today."
They should also be spared a religious hierarchy that protects the priests that abuse them.The Pope has yet to explain what the Church is doing to expel pedophile priests, and he continues to stand by bishops who covered up the abuse for years.
The truth is, the abuse that went on in the Catholic Church is not "society's" fault. It's the Church's fault. That's why the Church has had to pay out $2 billion in claims. And that makes it ultimately the Pope's fault. The church scandal is not something he can pass off on internet pornography.
For us, the Pope's visit has raised some major questions:
1. How rude is it to attack our morality on his first full day here? President Bush picked him up from the airport.
2. Does anyone know why Benedict's teenage affiliation with the Hitler Youth is excused by his being, in the BBC 's parlance, "not an enthusiastic member"?
3. Any clue why the Pope's autobiography is written through the eyes of his cat Chico?
4. Finally, how seriously should we take what the papers are calling the Pope's "chiding" of American society and its role in the church scandal? Do we as a nation really share some of the blame for the Church's crisis?
Reader Comments ( Page 3 of 14)
31. Unfortunately, I think the pope has missed the point by blaming American society for the current sexual abuse crisis, this has been something that has been going on for decades and in many other countries.
Kevin at 6:37AM on Apr 19th 2008
32. Obviously Ada calhoun isn't smart enough to do a little research on the popes past. As a teen he didn't join the Hitler youth wth open arms, like all other male german teens at the time ratzinger had no choice? You write as if Pope Benedict was first on line to sign up for Hitlers youth. Get your facts straight before you go criticizing such a figure. Hit or miss ignorance is the fuel that drives this kind of journalism, so perhaps now you can "excuse" Benedict about his youth and realize if people like you made the decisions in this "society" thered be alot more things getting molested than altar boys..
Maxxx at 10:36PM on Apr 17th 2008
33. You can not assign blame to the church, the pope or society and its immoral mores! That's just another smokescreen aka "we're sorry but..." The abuser is to blame! Next on the list, blame the inaction and coverup in which the archdioceses excelled for awhile. Interesting, though: his speechwriter knows about the whys and whereforths of pornography.
The pope should not be "blamed"for being in Hitler Youth. Every kid in Germany was whether they liked it or not. That was a terrifying "do or die" period. He was drafted from the seminary to be trained in infantry. These do not a Nazi make.
The pope is also the titular ruler of the Vatican State. He wields absolute authority. His every word is a command. As religious leader to 1billion catholics, he reigns supreme. Benedict as keeper of pius otherworldly morality is being utililzed. Bush hopes some the pope's moral goodness will rub off on his administration's New World policies. Can you imagine Bush calling the pope asking for a "moto bene" before launching an attack on Iran.
boredwell at 10:39PM on Apr 17th 2008
34. One of the pedophile priests was in my parish when I was a kid & another was chaplain of the all boys Catholic high school I attended in Boston back in the '70's.
The culture that produced these scandals was not the premissive sexualization of Western culture. This guy is part of the culture that allowed the abuse to continue for many decades & generations before the so-called permissive society -I assume he means the '60's & beyond. By the time the '60's arrived, the pedophile culture was firmly established in the church. Time for this old Nazi to take responsibility upon himself for his church's sexual practices.
Priests should be allowed to marry.
sossity at 10:51PM on Apr 17th 2008
35. What good will it do to defrock pedophile priests after they've already frocked the kids!! You can't give the kids their innocence back.
Benedict (if that is your real name!) should not be defended - he should be criticized & exposed for his complicity in these sordid scandals.
sossity at 11:07PM on Apr 17th 2008
36. And the Pope wonders why the Protestants aren't interested in reunification.
Look at it this way. If you have an electrical problem, you don't call a plumber. If you are facing a criminal indictment, you don't call an attorney that does estate planning.
So, why would you want to go to a man who has never married for pre-marital counseling? That's like asking the nerd who has a pocket protector and glasses held with tape for dating advice
Kent at 11:18PM on Apr 17th 2008
37. Great blog, great insite, point well and clearly made without going on and on etc.
Zell at 11:23PM on Apr 17th 2008
38. Ask anyone in the US who works in mental health who the most frequent perpetrators are. You'll find out that it is usually a family member, mom's boyfriend, or a friend of the family. The frequency of molestation of children by clergy, catholic or other, is so infrequent as to be statisticaaly insignificant. Your anti-catholic bias is evident. Do some research.
romana at 11:25PM on Apr 17th 2008
39. you are all jealous because the leader of the biggest religion in the world is here and your not catholic. remember when you point the finger 3 are pointing back at you. when john paul II was shot and immediately forgave the gunman and prayed for him could you honestly do the same? so shutup then
jmdtmu68 at 12:07AM on Apr 18th 2008
40. If you weren't in the hitler youth, you and your family risked being hauled off into a work camp. Dissent was really not optional; Hitler Youth was basically cumpulsory. That is a rather ad hominem attack on the pope and I think that the writer needs to brush up on her WW2 history.
rd at 12:49AM on Apr 18th 2008
41. Newsflash, Sean. Pedephilia is not a subset of homosexuality. Most pedephiles are HETEROSEXUAL. That includes your priests.
Do you honestly think that these molestations are only a recent phenomenon? It's been going on for centuries, it's been covered up for centuries. Such things were never talked about, children were told to hush and be respectful.
It's only because we are more open about exposing the horrendous acts. The church has been hushing it forever.
You catholics can spew your denial about the horrendous acts, and more notedly the coverup by Cardinal Ratzo over the decades that he was in his position.
Linda at 12:51AM on Apr 18th 2008
42. I wonder what the Pope thinks about modern-day crusaders ravishing natural resources of other nations for profit, stealing their lands, killing and emasculating culture and leadership, and laying the foundation to indoctrinate its youth, while secretly, abusing them mentally and physically, and using tools of the enemy, which is war and destruction, under guise and label of hypocrisy and terrorism? - Humpti -
Humpti at 12:12PM on Apr 18th 2008
43. Ada,
The Church did not manufacture pedophiles, the pedophiles chose to hide out in the church during a time when it was taboo to be gay/sexually deviant in this society.
The only difference, now, is that the Church will no longer aide and abet those.
I hear a deep bitterness in you and I pray for you.
The Supreme Pontiff came here to feed his sheep, to address the scandal and to bless the nation.
He's done just that.
Peace.
Devon at 2:00PM on Apr 30th 2008
44. What I see here is lack of proper policies in the Christian religion. You may say think of Islam as very inhuman because pedophiles are buried with the heads out and stoned to death. And anyone who doesn't through a stone is a person of weak faith. Secondly the pedophile is stoned in his own neighbourhood. I think if priests stone pedophile priests to death, it will be a good wake up call to fear God (literally) and ask for forgiveness. I still think it's better to stone one person to death than to destroy the faith of millions... My love to all good Christians who stand by moral values.
Imran at 1:55AM on Apr 18th 2008
45. Nice try, Il Papa. Unfortunately, you need to educate yourself on both the nature of pedophilia and on the insular bureaucracy of your church which allowed the abuse children to flourish.
Amelie at 4:01AM on Apr 18th 2008