Should Pope Benedict Resign?

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No. We need to find out more. So far with this Wisconsin thing, it sounds like the abuse was brought up decades later. Past the point of being able to prosecute. Apparently the offending priest repented and then died. Why in the world do the victims wait so long? Why do they settle for cash and not justice? Cash that comes from the people, not the priests. I’m in no way excusing the abuse, but why? Things need to be handled when abuse happens, not years later when it can’t be prosecuted! Hopefully with all the abuse cases that have come to light, the Church will monitor more closely their priests and deal more swiftly with any charges that come in the future. And not allow these predators to remain in contact with the public and bring them to justice. I feel bad for the victims and for the majority of good (law abiding) priests out there that are suffering with them.
 
No.

We should not bow to the hypocrites who blame the Church for sins of a few.

While they are vilifying the Catholic Church they choose to turn a blind eye to the same sins and greater scale of the same sins/crimes committed by n-Cs and educators.
FOXNews.com - Sexual Abuse of Minors in Protestant Churches - FOX Fan

StopBaptistPredators.org

Child Sexual Molestation by Various Protestant Clergy

What’s behind today’s epidemic of teacher-student sex?

The fact is that while we have had a problem. These other groups and institutions have current and ongoing problems that is being covered up far more than what we have had.
 
GEddie said:
They can, but it hasn’t happened since 1399 or thenabout.
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You’re talking about the Great Western Schism where there was a succession of anti-popes… and no one was sure who was the validly elected Pope. At the end of that schism, there were three Popes reigning at that time. We don’t have an anti-pope… yet. If people keep advocating for an abdication, then we might very well end up with one.
 
In my mind, anything that sounds like a good idea to the American press is most likely a bad idea for the Church, Christianity or humanity in general.

Praying.
 
Lutheranteach said:
If it gets to a point where the majority of Catholics, or the majority of Catholic leadership, no longer feels he is trustworthy than I think there would be no choice.
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And how would we know this?
Would all 1 Billion+ Catholics get to cast a secret ballot or something?

Should Papa Benedict resign?
WHEN PIGS FLY!
 
Germany has become a very secular hedonistic society so I take little stock in an opinion poll from any of the countries in the EU. They are actually so preoccupied with themselves, have turned away from organized religions (all Christian) and have a sleeping giant in their midst. The mass immigration of N Africans, Turkish, Indian Pakistani into the EU has turned each country and into a breeding ground for violence, poverty and disgruntled segment of the population. By 2050 Europe will most likely be an Islamic continent, and if you research France, England and The Netherlands, they have populations that will outnumber natives in birthrate, and laws that allow extended family to enter freely. The Netherlands and some cities in Europe allow Sharia Law to rule certain regions/cities which are led by fundamentalist who use impoverished groups to incite terror. The EU has some very real and present danger. Canada has bowed to this group and we see it creeping in the US, just Google Dearborn Michigan…

I believe the Holy Father should not resign, as mentioned in prior threads this in not a democracy and although subject to scrutiny by the press and other so called CHRISTAN BRETHREN (who are the first to denounce us) , their opinions do not count. The church is the living and breathing BODY OR CHRIST and she will endure until Christ comes again.

The Holy Father needs to immediately clean house, mandate strict checks and balances and one strike you are out rule. The accuser should be turned over to the civil authorities, just like my husband/brother/self would if we violated any person. The only way to win is to involve the laity, clean up the predators or those with tendencies and move ahead. I would never assume to comment on a rabbi or protestant minister, although they do not have one high authority in the thousands of splinter groups so it would become an arduous task at hand.

Pax
Roisin
 
Lutheranteach said:
If it gets to a point where the majority of Catholics, or the majority of Catholic leadership, no longer feels he is trustworthy than I think there would be no choice. The ability to lead simply won’t be there, and I don’t think that is an acceptable scenario. I’d like to think he’d resign for the good of the church if he felt things had reached that point.
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That is not how the Catholic Church works, he will have a difficult cross to bear for this but as the Vicar of Christ, he will not resign.
 
Since it appears this last abuse scandal happened before Pope Benedict’s election, maybe if people need to put the blame on someone, it should be Pope John Paul II. He was in command at the time, not Pope Benedict.

When Benedict allowed the priest to come to his diocese for treatment, it appears to be when all of society felt that treatment would cure these men.

Of course I would not place the blame on Pope John Paul II either, but if someone is going to persecute the head of the Church they should choose the one in power at that time.

The real issue is with the Bishops who were aware that these priests were not capable of being cured and didn’t remove them.

Yours in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary

Bernadette
 
adv1sor said:
First, don’t believe any blogs.

I only tend to give credence to what the Pope and the Vatican say.

Here is the letter the Holy Father sent:
vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/letters/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20100319_church-ireland_en.html?hpid=topnews

The Vatican has denied that the Pope failed to act on sex abuse claims.
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8588294.stm

The Pope has yet to comment on his handling of a child sex abuse case involving a German priest, which developed while Benedict was overseeing the Munich archdiocese.

I think that this is very important. The Pope should come out and deny any wrongdoing. Or he should step down.
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QFT, simply put if the pope was involved with this scandle and actually knew he was transfering a pedophile around, he should fess up and resign if its a serios action.
 
dnu said:
I don’t know if I would say “plumb” assignment.

He went from being an American Cardinal to a glorified tour guide at the Vatican. If thats not a slap in the face I don’t know what is.
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He is the archpriest of one of the most prestigious parishes in the world and lives in a former apartment with servents. Its that’s a slap, please slap me a few times.
 
lemonbeam said:
A lot of people are saying Pope Benedict should resign! What are your opinions on this? I’ve just read a story about German people having little faith left in this Pope.

cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=20263

Do you think Pope Benedict would resign?
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Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;
and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host -
by the Divine Power of God -
cast into hell, satan and all the evil spirits,
who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
 
The best way to deal with scandal is to drag it out into the light.

When something bad is done it is human nature to try to cover it up. But the cover up only leads to scandal and, quite often, the scandal becomes a bigger problem than the foul deed itself.

The Pope himself should make a public statement about his involvement, or lack thereof, in the cover up.

Either he participated or he didn’t.

He needs to set the record straight and then move on.

Whether or not he should resign if he was involved, well, that’s for minds much better than mine. But right now, by not denying or confirming the accusations against him, he is only fueling the scandal.
 
lemonbeam said:
A lot of people are saying Pope Benedict should resign! What are your opinions on this? I’ve just read a story about German people having little faith left in this Pope.

cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=20263

Do you think Pope Benedict would resign?
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My answer: NO!

God selected him for a reason. Yes, he was elected by Cardinals but it was through the actions of the Holy Spirit who guided them to elect him.
 
lemonbeam said:
A lot of people are saying Pope Benedict should resign! What are your opinions on this? I’ve just read a story about German people having little faith left in this Pope.

cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=20263

Do you think Pope Benedict would resign?
Click to expand...
NO, He cannnot guide the Church very well from jail so if he were tried and found guilty of some crime then he should consider it. Some people seem to have tried and convicted him already, when there is no evidence that he personally ever did anything wrong.
 
blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100031495/the-pope-and-the-wisconsin-sex-abuse-scandal-i-smell-a-stitch-up/

UK Telegraph

…So don’t accuse me of being an apologist for the culture of secrecy and cowardice that enabled wicked men to go unpunished.

But something smells fishy about today’s New York Times story implying that Pope Benedict XVI was complicit in the cover-up surrounding the crimes of a Wisconsin priest, Fr Lawrence Murphy, who abused children at a school for the deaf between 1950 and 1974.

Murphy? Guilty as hell. Various bishops? Likewise. But the fact that in 1996 Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger may have approved the decision not to pursue complex canonical procedures against Murphy on the grounds that the guy was dying anyway doesn’t strike me as much of a smoking gun.

I do, however, get the very strong feeling that the Pope’s enemies, including his enemies in the Church, are trying desperately hard to discover serious complicity on his part in a child abuse case. Because that would be just so convenient, wouldn’t it?..

This Wisconsin scandal does not indicate that Joseph Ratzinger was guilty of anything more than misplaced compassion towards a seriously ill old man who had performed (but not been convicted of) acts of great wickedness. In the Munich case, he could be accused of lack of vigilance; the American scandal is much less damaging to him personally, once the full details are taken into account…

Anyway, because some of the media coverage of this latest story has been so partial, in my opinion, I’m going to reproduce in full today’s report by John Thavis of the Catholic News Service. There are facts here that must be taken to account before we arrive at a nuanced judgment…

Vatican officials who spoke on background said the New York Times story was unfair because it ignored the fact that, at the urging of Cardinal Ratzinger himself, new procedures to deal with priest abusers were put in place in 2002, including measures making it easier to laicize them.

“This would be handled differently today, based on jurisprudence and experience,” one Vatican official told Catholic News Service. “But you can’t accuse people of not applying in 1998 a principle that was established in 2002.”…
 
Only he knows the answer to that question.

We are in no position to speculate (as it is sinful) and I for one would like to see this thread locked.
 
dnu said:
I don’t know if I would say “plumb” assignment.

He went from being an American Cardinal to a glorified tour guide at the Vatican. If thats not a slap in the face I don’t know what is.
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Beats a cell with a cellmate who wants to throw the dice
 
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