Church adds insult to infamy
Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday April 6, 2010
The devil didn't make me do it. The facts did.Father Gabriele Amorth, the chief exorcist for the Holy See, said The New York Times coverage of Pope Benedict, which cast doubt on his rigour in dealing with paedophile priests, was "prompted by the Devil"."There is no doubt about it," the 85-year-old priest said. "Because he is a marvellous Pope and worthy successor to John Paul II, it is clear that the Devil wants to grab hold of him."The exorcist said the abuse scandal showed Satan used priests to try to destroy the church, "and so we should not be surprised if priests too ... fall into temptation. They also live in the world and can fall like men of the world."Actually, falling into temptation is eating cupcakes after you've given them up for Lent. Rape and molestation of children is far beyond what most of us think of as succumbing to worldly temptation.As the shameful revelations unfurl, the Vatican is rather overplaying its hand. The only thing between Catholics and God is a defensive church hierarchy that cannot fully acknowledge and heal the damage it has done around the globe.How could the faithful enjoy Easter redemption when a Good Friday service at the Vatican was more concerned with shielding the Pope than repenting the church's misdeeds?Raniero Cantalamessa, a preacher of the papal household, told those at St Peter's Basilica, including the Pope, he was thinking about the Jews at Easter because "they know from experience what it means to be victims of collective violence and also because of this they are quick to recognise the recurring symptoms".Amazingly enough, it turns out the priest was not referring to the collective violence and recurring symptoms of the global plague of Catholic priests who harm children, enabled by the malignant neglect of the Vatican. He was talking about the collective violence and recurring symptoms of those critics - including victims, Catholics worldwide and commentators - who want the church to face up to its sins.Cantalamessa went on to quote from the letter of a Jewish friend: "I am following with indignation the violent and concentric attacks against the church, the Pope and all the faithful by the whole world. The use of stereotypes, the passing from personal responsibility and guilt to a collective guilt, remind me of the more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism."As they say in Latin, "Ne eas ibi." Don't go there.Mindful of the church's long history of anti-Semitism, Leon Wieseltier, the New Republic literary editor, noted: "Why would the Catholic Church wish to defend itself by referring to other enormities in which it was also implicated? Anyway, the Jews endured more than a bad press."This solidarity with Jews is notable given La Repubblica reported "certain Catholic circles" suspected "a New York Jewish lobby" was responsible for the outcry against the Pope.It's insulting to liken the death of 6 million Jews with the outrage of Catholics at the decades-long cover-up of crimes against children by the very men who were supposed to be their moral guides. Even the Vatican spokesman, Federico Lombardi, tried to walk the cat back: "I don't think it's an appropriate comparison."Cantalamessa was expressing the sense of self-victimisation permeating the Vatican at a time when more real victims are pouring forth. News reports said the abuse hotline set up by the Catholic Church in Germany imploded the first day out when more than 4000 callers charging abuse flooded the lines.There is the Pope's inability to say anything long, adequate and sincere about the scandal and what role he has played, including acceding to the petition of the Wisconsin priest who abused 200 deaf kids that he should not be defrocked in his infirmity, to spare his priestly "dignity". And there is his veiled dismissal of criticism as "petty gossip".It is in crises that leaders are tested. We get to see if they succumb to their worst instincts or summon their better angels. All Benedict has to do is the right thing. The hero of the week, for simply telling the truth, was the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin."There is no shortcut to addressing the past," he said. "This has been a difficult year ... Shameful abuse took place within the church of Christ. The response was hopelessly inadequate."Amen.
© 2010 Sydney Morning Herald