April 19, 2005
Pope Benedict XVI: We Have a Pope!
Praise be to the Holy Spirit for continuing to remain and guide the Catholic Church! Thank you Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for giving to the Church yet another faithful shepherd of the People of God.
Let us rejoice and be glad on this glorious day!
In Christ,
Joe
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I think he's a fantastic selection not only for the church, but for society because he will bring a resounding moral voice to the debate or discussion. This will allow society to get back on the path of redemption and holiness from it's moral woes that it's in right now.
Posted by: Bradley Seely at April 19, 2005 06:02 PMPope Benedict XVI, before he was Pope, was Pope John Paul's assistant... and the one responsible for "taking care" of all the reports of Priests molesting children in America.
Whereas his first action should have been to call the police, instead, his actions were to wipe the reports under the carpet, hide what happened, and simply re-locate certain Priests.
I look at Pope Benedict no differently than I would look at someone who knows child molestation is occuring, yet turns a blind eye and works to protect the child molestor.
Posted by: Tommy at May 29, 2005 05:05 PMTommy,
I doubt you will be back to read this reply, but if you do come back just know that you are mistaken.
Pope Benedict was not Pope John Paul II's "assistant". He was the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a congregation that was not directly responsible for addressing the sex abuse scandal of 2002. Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, is the cardinal at the Vatican who is responsible for assisting bishops on such matters. Yet let us not forget that ultimately the bishop responsible for these priests, who failed to live as priests and to be true imitators of Christ, is the one is responsible.
You see, you don't understand the Catholic Church so you have this mindset that the Catholic heirarchy is pyramid shaped. It isn't. There is a college of bishops, with the Pope as its head, yet each bishop shares in that corporate responsibility for the whole Church.
Finally, the Vatican did firmly address these matters. Sadly, certain individuals responsible for conveying that message to the media did a poor PR job in getting across what the meetings in Rome produced. I will say this, the Catholic Church has taken substantial steps to address this matter and to rectify the terrible instances of sexual abuse, in a way that few other churches have.
If you would seriously like to learn more about the events surrounding the sex abuse scandal I would suggest reading The Courage To Be Catholic: Crisis, Reform, and the Future of the Church, by George Weigel.
In Christ,
Joe
