Allegations that Pope Benedict XVI may have had detailed
knowledge about instances of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church continue to
mount. In 1996, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which he then
led, decided not to punish the pedophile priest Father Lawrence Murphy. With
his authority eroded, why does he even remain in office?
When is it time for a pope to resign? Margaret Kassmann, the
former head of the Protestant Church in Germany, stepped down in February upon
deciding that she no longer had the necessary moral authority for her office
after being caught driving drunk. But how much authority does Pope Benedict XVI
still enjoy?
These days, what is left is disappearing almost daily. Each
new detail about the role he played in his church's handling of instances of
sexual abuse erodes it further. But a pope doesn't just resign. He is not the
CEO of a company, not the head of a political party -- he is the direct
spiritual descendent of the Apostle Peter.
It is, in theory, possible according to church law. Canon
332, Paragraph Two, provides for a papal resignation, allowing the pope to step
down whenever he wishes and without asking anyone for permission. But in the
long history of the Catholic Church, it is extremely uncommon. Pope Celestine V
was the most recent church leader to resign -- 700 years ago.
And even if numerous abuse victims have long been calling
for Benedict to stand down, it is simply not papal to turn one's back on the
papacy. Instead, the Vatican prefers to reject any accusations that have been
made as being fully unfounded.
On Thursday, one could observe the reflex once again. In the
case of the pedophile priest from the US, Father Lawrence Murphy, Vatican
spokesman Federico Lomobardi insisted that before he became pope, Benedict,
then known as Joseph Ratzinger, was in no way involved in a cover up. Given
that "Father Murphy was elderly and in very poor health," the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, then led by Ratzinger, elected in
1996 to forego punishing him. Murphy, who had abused some 100 children, was
allowed to remain a priest until his death.
'The Perpetrators First'
It seems doubtful that this explanation will reduce the
pressure on the pope. The Church's motto has long seemed to be "the perpetrators
first." They were taken good care of -- the victims, however, were left to
their own devices.
Since 1982, Ratzinger had been responsible for that part of
the Vatican which deals with cases of sexual abuse. Who, other than he, was
responsible for the Church's path?
You can rename Ratzinger "Benedict," SPIEGEL wrote
in the face of the euphoria over the German pope that spread here after his
election to the papacy in 2004, but you can't take Ratzinger out of the pope.
Since then, as pope, he has done more damage to his church than good. He has
strained relations with Jews several times, he played with fire in relations
between Christians and Muslims with his Regensburg address, he angered the
indigenous people during his Latin America trip, he has alienated Protestants
and he has shown himself to be conciliatory to Holocaust deniers.
Even loyal Catholics have been stunned by the course of
action he has taken. And now, on top of all that -- one area where he has been
consistent over the decades has been in his negligence in dealing with
pedophiles within his own institution.
In Ireland or America, bishops have had trouble stepping
down -- even in cases in which their cover-up had been uncloaked. And in
Germany, not a single bishop has taken the fall for the serious mistakes made
by the Catholic Church there.
Small Business Crisis Management
The reaction up until now has hardly gone further than the
kind of crisis management one might see at a medium-sized company: issuing an
apology, setting up a round table discussion to deal with the problem,
establishing a hotline -- and not much more. So how are the perpetrators behind
the perpetrators to be found? How are we supposed to eradicate the system of
cover-ups, silence and reassigning pedophiles to other diocese in the Church?
And who will force the Church to open its files to the public?
The experience of the victims in America and Ireland over
the years has been bad. Will that experience now be repeated in Germany? What
happened behind the facades of the Church is still far from being an open book.
The fact that several bishops here in Germany helped to ensure the cartel of
silence persisted is alone reason enough for them to resign. The alternative
would be for them go public with their knowledge and actions, as painful and
difficult as that might be.
Evil has been perpetrated inside one of the highest moral
authorities, one whose men have preached from the pulpit in the finest detail
about what is right and what is wrong.
But the question begs asking: What moral authority remains
upon which priests and bishops in Germany can draw to continue executing their
offices and provide people with answers to life's difficult questions?