Pope Benedict XVI, despite the Vatican’s specific denial of accusations made yesterday by The New York Times, indeed knew that a “pedophile priest” as the Times puts it, “would be returned to pastoral work within days of beginning psychiatric treatment.”
In a follow-up report to yesterday’s bombshell that directly linked Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who is now Pope Benedict XVI, to scandals and cover-ups in the U.S. and Germany surrounding priests under his supervision who molested young boys for years, The New York Times today adds another bombshell.
The Times also reports, “The priest was later convicted of molesting boys in another parish.”
“An initial statement on the matter issued earlier this month by the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising placed full responsibility for the decision to allow the priest to resume his duties on Cardinal Ratzinger’s deputy, the Rev. Gerhard Gruber. But the memo, whose existence was confirmed by two church officials, shows that the future pope not only led a meeting on Jan. 15, 1980, approving the transfer of the priest, but was also kept informed about the priest’s reassignment.
“What part he played in the decision making, and how much interest he showed in the case of the troubled priest, who had molested multiple boys in his previous job, remains unclear. But the personnel chief who handled the matter from the beginning, the Rev. Friedrich Fahr, “always remained personally, exceptionally connected†to Cardinal Ratzinger, the church said.
“The case of the German priest, the Rev. Peter Hullermann, has acquired fresh relevance because it unfolded at a time when Cardinal Ratzinger, who was later put in charge of handling thousands of abuse cases on behalf of the Vatican, was in a position to refer the priest for prosecution, or at least to stop him from coming into contact with children. The German Archdiocese has acknowledged that “bad mistakes†were made in the handling of Father Hullermann, though it attributed those mistakes to people reporting to Cardinal Ratzinger rather than to the cardinal himself.”
Four Americans were arrested in Italy yesterday, including a victim of Father Murphy, the Wisconsin priest accused of molesting 200 deaf boys in Wisconsin decades ago.
“On Thursday, a victim of molestation by Murphy recounted his abuse in a news conference outside the headquarters of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. “The pope knew about this. He’s the one who knew about this,” Arthur Budzinski said in sign language. “He should be held accountable. I believe somebody should be punished.”
“In Rome on Thursday, a group of Americans from SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, staged a news conference outside St. Peter’s Square in Rome to denounce Benedict’s handling of the case and gave reporters church and Vatican documents on the case.
“Afterward, Italian police detained four Americans for 2½ hours because they didn’t have a permit for the news conference and suggested they get a lawyer in case a judge decided to press charges, the Americans said.
“We’ve spent more time in the police station than Father Murphy did in his life,” Peter Isely, the Milwaukee-based director of SNAP, said after his release.”
It is believed, as The Times points out, that then Cardinal Ratzinger, now pope Benedict XVI, also had direct knowledge of that case, but did not defrock Murphy.
In a separate piece yesterday, The Times adds this:
“He is at a crossroads,†said Marco Politi, a veteran Italian Vatican journalist. “What’s extraordinary is that the scandal has reached the heart of the center of the church. Up to now it was far away — in the States, in Canada, in Brazil, in Australia. Then it came to Europe, to Ireland.
“Then it came to his motherland,†Mr. Politi added of Benedict’s native Germany. “Then it came to his diocese, and now it’s coming to the heart of the government of the church — and he has to give an answer.â€
Andrew Sullivan rightfully asks, “How can someone who is the problem also be the solution to it?”