Swing and A Miss

Palm Sunday was the first game in the Easter Week series. The home team, the Vatican, stepped into the batters box. Their top player, Pope Benedict, went to the plate. He took a deep breath, stared at the anxious public, took a swing and missed.

The Pope seemed oblivious to the public relations, if not ethical and moral dilemma facing the Catholic Church. In at least five major countries, there are front page reports which all sound the same. Priest molests child, local church ignores and ultimately transfers the priest, priest does it again, and church tries to silence victims while stonewalling the police. In at least three instances, the line of authority (and need to know) passed up to Pope Benedict (then Cardinal Ratzinger).

Good work is usually rewarded. The Catholic Church ultimately rewarded Joseph Ratzinger by naming him Pope. But what was the good work? What was the example and “tone at the top” that should be held up to all people, especially catholic believers?

It seems that stonewalling and denial are the tones preferred by the Vatican leaders. That is a powerful message to send at Easter which otherwise is a time for forgiveness and renewal.

Maybe the Pope does know better. Maybe irrelevance is preferred over renewal because renewal will undoubtably involve cleaning the Vatican house of old, all male leadership. Without a clean broom, you can not expect to rid yourself of vermin.

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Tags: catholic church, child abuse, joseph ratzinger, pope, pope benedict, rome

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