Pope Francis Was Quiet on Child Abuse Cases

[stromboli]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the ... story.html

HURLINGHAM, Argentina — Father Julio Cesar Grassi was a celebrity in the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires. The young, dynamic, ­media-savvy priest networked with wealthy Argentines to fund an array of schools, orphanages and job training programs for poor and abandoned youths, winning praise from Argentine politicians and his superior, Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio.

Grassi called his foundation Felices los Niños, "Happy Children."

Today, Grassi is a convicted sex offender who remains free on a conditional release after being sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2009 for molesting a prepubescent boy in his care.

Yet in the years after Grassi's conviction, Bergoglio — now Pope Francis — has declined to meet with the victim of the priest's crimes or the victims of other predations by clergy under his leadership. He did not offer personal apologies or financial restitution, even in cases in which the crimes were denounced by other members of the church and the offending priests were sent to jail.

Since he was elected to the papacy Wednesday, media attention has focused primarily on Bergoglio's actions during the "Dirty War" years of Argentina's military dictatorship. But at a time when the Vatican is facing a costly legal and moral crisis on several continents over sex crimes committed by its priests, Bergoglio's handling of pedophilic clergy under his authority offers insight into how he might approach the scandals.

Same old, same old. Nothing new here. The stupid just keeps on coming.

[Valigarmander]

What a shocker.

[GurrenLagann]

Should've known.

[dawiw]

I think the media has been mum to ask about it, or perhaps they will give time for the Pope to address these issues.

[BarkAtTheMoon]

Yet another country I hadn't seen mentioned before with pedophile priests. Are there any countries with a significant Catholic population that haven't had any priests get busted for pedophilia? It simply has to be directly related to the abstinence requirement for Catholic clergy. No other major factor makes any sense. What other type of behavior so easily crosses cultures and crosses national borders while no other major Christian denomination, that allows priests to be human fucking beings and fall in love and get married, has the same problems with their clergy?

[Davka]

Anyone remember the whole scandal about Ratzinger/Benedict and his time in the Hitler Youth? That was a big deal in the press when he was first Popeified, but then it died down and the faithful went right back to accepting Herr Papa as Gawd's chosen tool.

This story will similarly have no legs. It doesn't matter what the Pope did, because the infallible church infallibly chose the infallible pope, so there can't have been a mistake.

[SilentFutility]

Anyone remember the whole scandal about Ratzinger/Benedict and his time in the Hitler Youth? That was a big deal in the press when he was first Popeified, but then it died down and the faithful went right back to accepting Herr Papa as Gawd's chosen tool.

This story will similarly have no legs. It doesn't matter what the Pope did, because the infallible church infallibly chose the infallible pope, so there can't have been a mistake.

In fairness, not joining the Hitler youth was potentially dangerous, and young children were indoctrinated and forced into it.
Being in a position of high authority and shirking responsibility for the atrocious crimes committed on your watch is a lot worse.

[stromboli]

To me it becomes obvious why he was elected to the office. Simply one of the boys in every way politically, not rocking any boats internally and putting forth the same bullshit rhetoric as his predecessors.