From: Andrew Johnson
Date: 2010-04-05 11:32:22
Attachments : Nothing gets into the mainstream media without a reason… From: Kathy Roberts [mailto:weerkhr@pacbell.net] Sent: 04 April 2010 23:57To: Undisclosed-Recipient: ;@smtp108.sbc.mail.gq1.yahoo.comSubject: Blame A Dead Pope Who Can’t Deny It www.guardian.co.uk/w… 17 August 2003 The Vatican instructed Catholic bishops around the world to cover up cases of sexual abuse or risk being thrown out of the Church. The Observer has obtained a 40-year-old confidential document from the secret Vatican archive which lawyers are calling a ‘blueprint for deception and concealment’. One British lawyer acting for Church child abuse victims has described it as ‘explosive’. Lawyers point to a letter the Vatican sent to bishops in May 2001 clearly stating the 1962 instruction was in force until then. The letter is signed by Cardinal Ratzinger, the most powerful man in Rome beside the Pope and who heads the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith – the office which ran the Inquisition in the Middle Ages. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger who became Pope Benedict had tried to investigate the abuses as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, according to Schönborn. But his efforts had been blocked by the Vatican, an apparent reference to John Paul. Asked by The Sunday Times whether John Pauls role in the cover-up of abuse should be investigated, Schönborn said: I have known Pope Benedict personally during 37 years of amiable acquaintance and I can say with certainty that … he made entirely clear efforts not to cover things up but to tackle and investigate them. This was not always met with approval in the Vatican. www.timesonline.co.u… April 4, 2010 John Paul ignored abuse of 2,000 boys Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer abused an estimated 2,000 boys for decades without sanction Bojan Pancevski in Vienna and John Follain in Rome #ygrps-yiv-1682664059 DIV#ygrps-yiv-1682664059related-article-links P A { COLOR:#06c;} #ygrps-yiv-1682664059 DIV#ygrps-yiv-1682664059related-article-links P A:visited { COLOR:#06c;} When John Paul II died five years ago the crowd that packed St Peters Square for his funeral clamoured Santo subito (Saint now)! in a spontaneous tribute to the charisma of the Polish pontiff. As the faithful marked the anniversary of John Pauls death on Good Friday, however, he was being drawn into the scandal over child abuse in the Catholic church that has confronted his successor, Benedict XVI, with the worst crisis of his reign. Allegations that the late pontiff blocked an inquiry into a paedophile cardinal, promoted senior church figures despite accusations that they had molested boys and covered up innumerable cases of abuse during his 26-year papacy have cast a cloud over his path to sainthood. The most serious claims related to Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer, an Austrian friend of John Pauls who abused an estimated 2,000 boys over decades but never faced any sanction from Rome. Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Groers successor, criticised the handling of that scandal and other abuse cases last week after holding a special service in St Stephens cathedral, Vienna, entitled Admitting our guilt. Schönborn condemned the sinful structures within the church and the patterns of silencing victims and looking away. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger who became Pope Benedict had tried to investigate the abuses as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, according to Schönborn. But his efforts had been blocked by the Vatican, an apparent reference to John Paul. Asked by The Sunday Times whether John Pauls role in the cover-up of abuse should be investigated, Schönborn said: I have known Pope Benedict personally during 37 years of amiable acquaintance and I can say with certainty that … he made entirely clear efforts not to cover things up but to tackle and investigate them. This was not always met with approval in the Vatican. The Groer affair became public in 1995 when former pupils of an elite Catholic school accused him of sexual abuse. After an outcry, Groer was replaced and made the prior of a convent. He was never punished and issued only a vague apology in 1998 before retreating to a nunnery where he lived until his death in 2003. Some of his victims were offered hush money from the church. Michael Tfirst, 54, one of Groers victims, claims to have reported the abuse to highranking church officials from the 1970s onwards. He says the church paid him £3,300 in 2004 under a contract that obliged him to keep quiet. There is no question that Ratzinger knew all the details of reports on abuse within the church, as there is no doubt that John Paul, his superior, took part in a massive and systematic cover-up, Tfirst said. John Paul also faced criticism last week from Poland for protecting Archbishop Juliusz Paetz, who was accused of abusing trainee priests. Letters detailing the charges were sent to John Pauls office and to Ratzinger in 2000 but were ignored. Paetz resigned in 2002 when the allegations became public. Stanislaw Obirek, a Polish theologian and a former Jesuit priest, said: I believe John Paul is the key person responsible for the cover-up of abuse cases because most of it occurred during his papacy. How can someone who is to blame for this be beatified? In America critics pointed out that although Benedict has borne the brunt of criticism over ignoring the scandal of Father Lawrence Murphy, accused of molesting 200 deaf boys at a special school in Wisconsin, Ratzinger had acted on the authority of John Paul. Another beneficiary of John Pauls discreet approach was Marcial Maciel Degollado, a Mexican priest known as Father Maciel, who founded a conservative religious order. He was accused by former members of abuse in 1998. John Paul blessed Maciel in the Vatican in late 2004, at a time when Ratzinger was investigating him. A year after Ratzinger became pope, the Vatican ordered Maciel to lead a reserved life of prayer and penance, effectively removing him from power. John Paul was also accused of ignoring controversy over John Magee, a former private secretary to three popes including the Polish pontiff, who named him Bishop of Cloyne in 1987. Late last month Magee was forced to resign after an independent report found that his diocese in Ireland had put children at risk. In the Vatican the spiralling allegations have prompted a siege-like mentality. Father Federico Lombardi, Benedicts spokesman, declined to comment on John Pauls handling of abuse cases. Were busy with Easter celebrations, lets focus on the homilies, he said. The Polish cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, John Pauls private secretary for four decades, rejected as unfair and misleading any attempt to distinguish between the approaches of the two popes to abuse cases. Benedict is strongly committed to clearing things up, like a father, Dziwisz told La Repubblica, the Italian newspaper. In Europe there are signs of the faithful turning their backs on the church in large numbers. In Austria alone more than 20,000 Catholics left the church in March. In America there was a furious response by Jewish groups to a Good Friday sermon by Father Raniero Cantalamessa, Benedicts personal preacher, in which he compared the wave of attacks on the church to anti-Semitism. Rabbi Gary Greenebaum, of the American Jewish Committee, protested: So far I havent seen Saint Peter burn. The Vatican is trying to turn the persecutors into victims. John Paul was expected to be beatified in October but the process may be delayed. A French nun who appeared to have been miraculously cured of Parkinsons disease through his intercession has reportedly been found to be suffering from a different illness. Giancarlo Zizola, a leading expert on the Vatican, said the church officials who had gathered documents and questioned witnesses about John Pauls suitability for sainthood had examined negative aspects of his papacy, including his handling of abuse cases. Theres no chance of Benedict delaying the beatification because of the abuse scandal, Zizola said. On the contrary, I expect hell accelerate it. Allegations Critics say John Paul II: Failed to encourage bishops to report accusations of paedophilia by priests to the police. Ignored accusations against senior members of the clergy, at times promoting them to higher office. Allowed many priests accused of paedophilia to be transferred to a new diocese without anyone being warned of their record. Decreed that pontifical secrecy must apply to cases of sexual abuse in church trials.
