Pope Benedict XVI and Catholic Church Facing Sex Scandal Cover Ups

Fresh revelations about Pope Benedict XVI covering up accusations pertaining to sexual abuse took the world by storm and increased the Vatican’s risk of being involved in lawsuits brought against it by victims from across the world.

Failure of The Catholic Church To Tackle Sex Scandal Cover Ups

In the US, Europe and Mexico, there is considerable anger and outrage about the failure of the Catholic Church to be open about what is happening. An American Catholic newspaper described this phase as the largest institutional crisis faced by the Catholic Church in centuries. A spokesperson from the Vatican stated on 28^th March, 2010, that the Pope’s record was above any discussion. Officially, the Vatican denounced it as the aggressive persistence of those critics who wanted to prove a point against ‘the Holy Father.’

Catholic Church Faces the Worst Institutional Crisis

Mounting anger at the Catholic Church’s failure to act on predatory priests in the US, Europe and Mexico has plunged the papacy into an institutional crisis described by an American Catholic newspaper last week as “the largest in centuries”.

The Vatican denounced critics stating that they were just trying to involve the Holy Father in such matters. A spokesman stated before the Vatican Radio that the Pope’s record was “above discussion”.

Before Cardinal Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI of Vatican

Before he became the Pope, he had been Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the archbishop of Munich and senior administrator of the Vatican. Allegations are thick that during his time as the head of the Vatican office, he had failed to punish Father Murphy, who had sexually abused more than 200 boys at the Wisconsin School for the Deaf. Cardinal Ratzinger did not report this to the police, nor did he defrock Father Murphy. In fact, Father Murphy continued as a priest till his death which took place in 1998.

When Father Hullermann, a Bavarian priest, was reported as having undergone therapy for paedophilia in Ratzinger’s diocese and from there, he was transferred to a new parish where he continued to molest boys, more allegations broke out against the Pope. The Vatican made a statement of denial on 26^th March, 2010, stating that the Cardinal Ratzinger had no knowledge about any decision to reassign Hullermann.

More Cover Ups on Sexual Abuse inside the Vatican

Adding fuel to fire is probably the best way to describe the Vatican’s current state of embarrassment as on 26^th March, there was an acknowledgement by a prominent Catholic order about its Mexican founder, known as Marcial Maciel Degollado. The deceased, known as Father Maciel, had molested numerous trainee priests and fathered several children.  It is Cardinal  Ratzinger who initiated an investigation into Maciel’s ‘activities.’

Interestingly, Maciel had been close to Ratzinger’s predecessor, Pope John Paul II.