Word: churched
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...greatest silence possible, not because he doesn't care about the abuse but because it would involve him in scandal and undermine his magisterium" - that is, his papal teaching authority. Indeed, the officials at the Vatican have characterized the German revelations as a targeted campaign to discredit the Church as a whole...
...Archdiocese of Munich and Freising announced that Father H was being suspended immediately from his pastoral duties (ministering to tourists in the Bavarian spa town of Bad Tölz) because he had violated the conditions under which he was allowed to work, which prohibited contact with young people. Church officials in Munich said there were no new reports of sexual abuse linked to the priest. His superior, Prelate Josef Obermaier, resigned on Monday. (See Pope Benedict's sex-abuse challenge...
...very disappointing that the Pope has kept silent on this issue," says Chris Weisner, spokesman for the Catholic reform group We Are Church. "Many Catholics in Germany had hoped that the Pope would have expressed a word of personal sympathy for the victims of abuse," he said. Indeed, on the Good Friday before Ratzinger became Pope in 2005, he issued a resounding call for reform in the church, saying, "How much filth there is in the church, and even among those ... in the priesthood" - widely believed to have been a reference to the abuse scandals affecting the church's standing...
...Vatican issued stern statements over the weekend suggesting there was a plot to smear the Pope. The head of Germany's Catholic Church, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, held a private audience with the Pope at the Vatican on Friday. After their meeting, the head of the German Bishops' Conference said he'd briefed the Pope on the situation in Germany. "With great shock, keen interest and deep sadness, the Holy Father took note of what I had to say," Zollitsch told reporters. The Archbishop said the Pope had encouraged German bishops to proceed with "determination and courage" in investigating the allegations...
...remains to be seen if that will be enough to allay the frustrations of Catholics who feel the church has been keener on protecting accused priests than comforting their alleged victims. Catholic grass-roots groups say the church should set up more telephone hotlines so victims of abuse can report cases easily and needs to be more proactive in dealing with errant priests. "The church should actively cooperate with state prosecutors in making public abuse cases and step up preventive measures, like background checks and training young priests and children to identify and avoid sexual abuse," says Weisner...