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| Pope Benedict XVI |
There has been a great deal of unrest as a result of this knowledge. Many have been outraged by the fact that Benedict knew what had been happening and did nothing to stop it during his papacy. For this reason, it has become a prevailing theory that the pope resigned due to his guilt over the subject, and thus retiring in humiliation.
However, the resignations juxtaposition with the beginning of Lent brings another possible explanation. Cardinal Dolan, the archbishop of New York, release a statement to the New York Times that the Pope's resignation was a sign of humility in the spirit of today's holiday. Lent is a time to relinquish luxuries and repent. Dolan stated, “That’s what this day is all about.” He says the pope did resign as a result of his knowledge of the sexual abuse, but that it was not due to humiliation. Rather, Dolan suggests that the pope recognized his human imperfection and decided against taking the prideful route and denying his involvement.
What do you think was Pope Benedict's motivation to resign? How do you think the pope could have handled these crimes during his papacy?
1 comment:
Pope Benedict is probably telling the truth, as being the Pope is certainly no easy job. It's true that the sex abuse scandals have been a blemish on his papacy, as has the Vatican's lack of response to the issues. The criminals were far too often subjected to a mere slap on the wrist, with no real resolution or announcement by the Church for more transparency. I think most people would have been satisfied with some kind of acknowledgement, like, "Yes, there has been a lot of abuse, but we are aware of this and are trying to bring justice where it is needed."
One of the biggest disappointments about Benedict's time as Pope was the lack of progress in the Church. Catholicism is one of the largest, if not largest, branches of Christianity, so he had the opportunity to move the church forward instead of letting it stagnate. Issues that devoutly religious people tend to oppose, such as gay marriage, could have been pushed for by the Church. Heavily Catholic countries like Spain have legalized it, and it would set Catholicism apart from most of the predominantly American branches of Christianity. All told, though, he served a good term, and his time in the Nazi Youth was happily a non-issue.
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