Finally, we need to show how Pope Benedict in his role as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, and then as Supreme Pontiff, has been the foremost voice of reform in the Church when it comes to bringing the scourge of predator priests to justice and expressing his love and compassion for the victims of priestly abuse.
With the shocking reports of the abuses which have occurred in Ireland, former abuses in Germany also started to make the headlines. The first attack against the Pope came when the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung implicated Cardinal Ratzinger, then Archbishop of Munich and Freising, of reassigning a known pedophile priest to pastoral duties in a Munich Parish. However, immediately after the allegation was made a press release was published by the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising in which Monsignor Gerhard Gruber, the Vicar General at the time of the reassignment, claimed full responsibility for returning the pedophile priest to pastoral duties.
“I assume full responsibility for this action. I deeply regret that this decision allowed crimes to be committed that involved young people and I ask forgiveness from all those who have been harmed.”
The most prominent attack against the Pope in America came from the New York Times on March 24, 2010. The Times article places blame on top officials at the Vatican including Pope Benedict for not removing Lawrence Murphy from the priesthood in 1998 after he had sexually abused several students at St. John’s School for the Deaf in the Diocese of Milwaukee during the 60s and 70s. Were mistakes made by the Church in the case of Fr. Murphy in that earlier era? Yes, there were mistakes made, not only by the Church but also by the secular authorities as well.
However, the Fr. Murphy story does not end with the failures of the 70's. Due to the advocacy of victims, a criminal case was brought against Fr. Murphy in the Diocese of Milwaukee in 1996. Fr. Thomas Brundage J.C.L., the canon lawyer who was the presiding judge in the ecclesiastical criminal case against Fr. Murphy, has spoken out about inaccuracies in the reporting of the case by the New York Times. Father Brundage states, “Discerning truth takes time and it is apparent that the New York Times, the Associated Press and others did not take the time to get the facts correct.”
Father Brundage's article which gives his account of the trial is well worth reading and can be found at the webpage for the Diocese of Anchorage's newspaper Catholic Anchor Online. In defense of Pope Benedict, Fr. Brundage clearly points out that in 1998 it would have been the Roman Rota rather than the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (and then-Cardinal Ratzinger) which would have had responsibility for Fr. Murphy’s case.
“The competency to hear cases of sexual abuse of minors shifted from the Roman Rota to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith headed by Cardinal Ratzinger in 2001. Until that time, most appeal cases went to the Rota and it was our experience that cases could languish for years in this court. When the competency was changed to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in my observation as well as many of my canonical colleagues, sexual abuse cases were handled expeditiously, fairly, and with due regard to the rights of all parties involved. I have no doubt that this was the work of then Cardinal Ratzinger.”
In addition to Fr. Brundage’s account of shoddy journalism by the New York Times, another recent article posted by CNA reports that the Italian paper Il Foglio has also accused the Times of poor journalism.
Il Foglio reports that the New York Times used a very poor Yahoo Translator translation of then-CDF secretary Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone’s letter to Archbishop Weakland of Milwaukee in reference to the Murphy case. According to the CNA article, “The computer-generated English version would support the NYT’s allegations against Bertone and Ratzinger, ‘but that same conclusion is not possible if a correct review of the sources is done, in other words, if (the story) is based in the official text written by the CDF in Italian’.”
If there is one person who has done more than anyone else in the Church to end the scourge of predator priests, it has to be Pope Benedict XVI. In the past week it has seemed as though the press covers all the attacks against the Pope but rarely any of the defenses that are made on his behalf.
One of the best defenses for the Pope was made by the current head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal William Levada. Cardinal Levada, in his letter which was published in the Catholic San Francisco Online Edition, points out the many reasons why Pope Benedict should be lauded for efforts to bring justice to the victims of priestly abuse, as well as punishment to priests who are predators.
For those who will argue that the Cardinal Levada’s letter is a natural reaction of the Church protecting it’s own, another staunch defense of the Pope comes from the Lutheran Theologian John Stephenson in his article written for Logia, A Journal for Lutheran Theology. Both Cardinal Levada as well as Stephenson point out that if there is one person who does not deserve criticism in his reaction to abuses within the Church it is Pope Benedict. Pope Benedict, rather than being part of the problem, has consistently been part of the solution.
As a response to the abuse scandal in the United States, in 2001, Pope John Paul II released a Motu Propio titled Sacramentorum Sanctitatis Tutela. According to Cardinal Levada, current prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, this document was prepared under the guidance of then, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. As Prefect of the CDF under John Paul II, Ratzinger in preparing Sacramentorum Sanctitatis Tutela streamlined the process of bringing sexual offender priests to justice by making sexual abuse of minors by clerics a most grave crime which could then bypass the long Rota process and be dealt with much more quickly through his own office, the CDF.
In addition to making the process more efficient, Ratzinger also ensured that in cases of sexual abuse of minors there would be no statute of limitations so that priests who committed crimes in the past could be brought to justice no matter how much time had passed between the crime and its revelation. It was not until 2001 that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was officially given the competency to deal with priests and the sexual abuse of minors.
Another example of how Benedict has been a leader in confronting the scourge of clerical sexual abuse was shown in his Apostolic visit to America. In April of 2008, Pope Benedict made it a point to personally apologize on behalf of the Church for the abuse they had received at the hands of priests. In an emotional meeting, Benedict prayed with the victims of abuse and listened as each one told him their personal story. In a homily the following day the Pope stated, “No words of mine could describe the pain and harm inflicted by such abuse…Nor can I adequately describe the damage that has occurred within the community of the Church”. The Pope also met with and apologized to victims in Australia when he visited the continent for World Youth Day in 2008.
Finally, as a result of the abuses in Ireland, on March 20, 2008, Pope Benedict released a letter to the Catholics of Ireland. Within this letter he confronts the issue of abuse within the church head on, expressing his compassion and love for the victims of abuse as well as chastising those priests who have abused and the bishops in their handling of the abuse.
“You have suffered grievously and I am truly sorry. I know that nothing can undo the wrong you have endured. Your trust has been betrayed and your dignity has been violated. Many of you found that, when you were courageous enough to speak of what happened to you, no one would listen. Those of you who were abused in residential institutions must have felt that there was no escape from your sufferings. It is understandable that you find it hard to forgive or be reconciled with the Church. In her name, I openly express the shame and remorse that we all feel.”
While the Pope addressed the letter to the Church in Ireland, it is written for the Church in all places, not just Ireland. Has the Church made errors in the past? Of course it has, but it has also recognized the errors and is in the process of reform, a reform which has had as its most outspoken leader Pope Benedict the XVI.
If you would like to follow up on the topic, please check out the following links cited in this article:.
The New York Times article on Fr. Murphy.
Fr. Thomas Brundage’s article for the Catholic Anchor Online.
Cardinal William Levada’s article for Catholic San Francisco Online Edition.
Lutheran Theologian John Stephenson’s article in Logia, A Journal for Lutheran Theology.
Sacramentorum Sanctitatis Tutela.
Bendict’s Letter to the Catholics of Ireland.
