Less than a week after my outburst regarding the Catholic Church, I opened my news compiler to find that the pope is going to abdicate. I hear that one of the attributes for those born during the year of the snake is psychic ability. If only I could predict how he will be remembered or more importantly, what corrective measures will be taken now that he's gone.
I know how I will remember.
He is the man who in May 2001 warned every bishop of the extreme gravity of reporting of rape and torture because such accusations against clergy were only treatable within the church's own exclusive jurisdiction and charges were to be investigated "in the most secretive way ... restrained by a perpetual silence" and everyone "is to observe the strictest secret which is commonly regarded as a secret of the Holy Office … under the penalty of excommunication." (source: Jamie Doward's two reports in the London Observer)
In April he very publicly rebuked American nuns for spending too much time “promoting issues of social justice” while failing to speak out often enough about “issues of crucial importance to the life of the church and society,” such as abortion and gay marriage. (source: Stephanie Simon's report for Reuters)
In 2010 he called same-sex marriage one of the most "insidious and dangerous" threats facing the world. Did someone forget about the allegations of child sex abuse? (source: Nick Squires for the Telegraph)
I know how I will remember.
He is the man who in May 2001 warned every bishop of the extreme gravity of reporting of rape and torture because such accusations against clergy were only treatable within the church's own exclusive jurisdiction and charges were to be investigated "in the most secretive way ... restrained by a perpetual silence" and everyone "is to observe the strictest secret which is commonly regarded as a secret of the Holy Office … under the penalty of excommunication." (source: Jamie Doward's two reports in the London Observer)
In April he very publicly rebuked American nuns for spending too much time “promoting issues of social justice” while failing to speak out often enough about “issues of crucial importance to the life of the church and society,” such as abortion and gay marriage. (source: Stephanie Simon's report for Reuters)
In 2010 he called same-sex marriage one of the most "insidious and dangerous" threats facing the world. Did someone forget about the allegations of child sex abuse? (source: Nick Squires for the Telegraph)
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