R-13 Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger a.k.a. the enforcer a.k.a. The Pope - named in child sex abuse cover-up

Bishops condemn BBC abuse claim '06 Oct 01 The Catholic Church has accused a BBC documentary of a "deeply prejudiced attack" on the Pope over claims of a systematic cover-up of child sex abuse......Panorama examined a document which allegedly encourages secrecy in dealing with cases of priests abusing children.....It says this was enforced by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger before he became Pope.

'Misuse of the confessional' The document called Crimen Sollicitationis was written in 1962 and apparently instructed bishops how to handle claims of child sex abuse......Programme makers asked Father Tom Doyle, a former church lawyer who was sacked from the Vatican for criticising its handling of child abuse, to interpret the document. He said it was an explicit written policy to cover up cases of child abuse, which stressed the Vatican's control and made no mention of the victims...... The Catholic Church said the document was not directly concerned with child sex abuse, but with the misuse of the confessional.

Sex crimes and the Vatican A secret document which sets out a procedure for dealing with child sex abuse scandals within the Catholic Church is examined by Panorama..... Crimen Sollicitationis was enforced for 20 years by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger before he became the Pope....It imposes an oath of secrecy on the child victim, the priest dealing with the allegation and any witnesses...... Breaking that oath means excommunication from the Catholic Church.

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What can I say, the pile just keeps getting higher? I just had a thought..... Wouldn't it be ironic if the Vatican excommunicated the Pope? Hmmmmmm..... "food for thought"

JR