The disgraceful attitude of Vatican apparatchiks to the torrent of sex abuse scandals perpetrated by priests continues. This time, rather than cover up or belittle the scandals the Pope’s personal preacher caused extreme offence by likening the attacks on the Church to the treatment meted out on Jews over the centuries.Speaking on Good Friday the Pope’s preacher Raniero Cantalamessa likened accusations against the pontiff and the Catholic church in sex abuse scandals in Europe, the U.S. and elsewhere to "collective violence" suffered by the Jews.
Cantalamessa, in his reflections for the pope on the Catholic church's most solemn day, said he was inspired by a letter from an unidentified Jewish friend who was upset by the "attacks" against Benedict. Jews "know from experience what it means to be victims of collective violence and also because of this they are quick to recognize the recurring symptoms," said Cantalamessa, a Franciscan priest.
Quoting from the letter, Cantalamessa said his Jewish friend was following "with indignation the violent and concentric attacks against the church, the pope and all the faithful of 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," he said, quoting from the letter
Invoking any comparison with anti-Semitism is bad enough but particularly crass on Good Friday, a day which gave rise to Centuries-long persecution of Jews as Christ Killers
Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, later contacted The Associated Press and said Cantalamessa wasn't speaking as a Vatican official when he compared "attacks'" on the pope to "collective" violence against Jews. Such parallelism can "lead to misunderstandings and is not an official position of the Catholic church," Lombardi said, adding that Cantalamessa was speaking about a letter from a friend who lived through a "painful experience."
Cantalamessa in his sermon also said there was no need to dwell on the scandals. He referred to the sexual abuse of children by clergy, saying "unfortunately, not a few elements of the clergy are stained" by the violence. Still, he said, "there is sufficient talk outside of here."
German Jewish leader Stephan Kramer described Cantalamessa's remarks as unheard-of "insolence." "It is repulsive, obscene and most of all offensive toward all abuse victims as well as to all the victims of the Holocaust," said Kramer, general secretary of Germany's Central Council of Jews, in an interview with the AP in Berlin.
A vocal U.S.-based victims lobby, SNAP, reacted scathingly to the sermon. "It's heartbreaking to see yet another smart, high-ranking Vatican official making such callous remarks that insult both abuse victims and Jewish people," said David Clohessy of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "It's morally wrong to equate actual physical violence and hatred against a large group of innocent people with mere public scrutiny of a small group of complicit officials."
The Rev. Thomas Reese, an expert on the Vatican based at Georgetown University in Washington, also criticized Cantalamessa's homily as "not helpful." “You know, you wish that people in the Vatican had at least some idea of how what they say will be perceived by an audience outside of the Vatican clergy," he said.
Personally it just goes to show how out of touch the residents of the Vatican truly are. Cantalamessa, for all of his intellect, showed himself to be an utter idiot
15 comments:
It was a stupid comment. However, a person with a long history of stupid
comments, Rowan Williams, should not have attacked the Church while it was down.
The scandals were inexcusable. However, one sees plenty of stories of public school teachers abusing kids with no feeding frenzy.
The real reason for the media uproar is this Pope's role in discrediting Liberation Theology.
"The scandals were inexcusable. However, one sees plenty of stories of public school teachers abusing kids with no feeding frenzy."
I feel you miss the point beakerkin, like the Church still does right now - it's not the abuse (apalling though it is) that is the major scandal and cause of "feeding frenzy" (yes, there are abusers everywhere), it is the REACTION to the abuse - cover it up, compel the victims to swear to secrecy, often implicate them as temptors and infect them with guilt, ignore, hide, belittle, ignore, hide some more, and thus... the most evil thing of all... ensure it continues, for years and years and years...
I doubt anyone is thinking of liberation theology Beakerkin, it is the sexual abuse of children and the Church's appalling suppression for several decades.
THe attitude shown here beggars belief. It shows how little the Vatican either understands its predicament or cares for it.
Jams
Would you like to look at the avalanche of stories of Public School teachers abusing kids. It is
something that is exponentially far greater than the misdeeds of the Church.
The problem is not so much the abuse. All denominations including Scientologists have had these scandals. The Catholic Church was asleep at the wheel, but it has made efforts to deal with the issue.
The media feeding frenzy started with the ascension of this Pope.
The folks in the far left press have never forgiven him for his role in squashing liberation theology.
Funny, I do not see media outrage
at public school teachers who are
increasingly behaving badly with their charges. Of course University
Prof. have been behaving poorly for decades. Their behavior would result in terminations in the private sector.
The media frenzy is out of control
on this issue.
I will take any Pope in recent memory over the cartoon Rowan Williams.
I couldn't believe what I read. The poor Catholic Church is persecuted!!!!!! Like the Jewish people are!!!!! What arrogant audacity those preachers in the pulpits have!!!!
I'm with you Andrew and Jams.
All abusers are scums. But teachers do not pretend to speak to the world, and to act in the name of a loving God. They don't invite you to confess YOUR sins, while covering up theirs.
I'll repeat: abusive teachers are scums. And I'm not excusing any. But they don't sell the luxurious buildings (paid by low income parishioners) for the legal fees of their abuses. Newfoundland catholics are bloody mad to have lost the churches they had spend a lifetime paying just because the Diocese had covered up the deviant priests and couln't afford the money it took to compensate their victims.
I repeat: abusive teachers are scums. But they're not destroying their teaching institutions like the deviant so-called (?) christian abusers are destroying the Church of Christ.
ALL ORGANISED RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS (not just the Catholic Church) are bleeding presently because of the sins of a few. That's why the representatives (of all denominations) are in a frenzy, covering up the cover up, accusing others, excusing the sinners beyond decency, and devoid of the compassion and understanding the victims so badly need.
Yes! The media has jumped on that story. IT'S ABOUT TIME. And let's remind the media that children have been abused, at all time, by other scums BUT keep talking about the so-called moral authority of a Pope who cannot find the RIGHT words to comfort victims and to condemn abusers and cover up.
We don't have to choose between any Pope and other religious leaders. If they're not up to the functions they say they have been called by God to fulfill, let's boot them out. There have been Reformations before. Sometimes, an institution has to die, in order to get rid of the pollution, and to be born anew.
Thank you, Jams, for having brought this important subject on the carpet. Please, feel free to delete my comment if I have gone too far for a blog.
Beakerkin, forget liberation theology, nobody is even thinking of that in relation to the sex abuse scandal. As for doing things about the scandal? THe Vatican has yet to demonstrate much real change apart from paying out millions to victims.
The Vatican won't change. It's mindset is that of rgw court of Louis XIV and his ilk.
As for public schools, that there hasn't been the torrent of outcry is wrong but that does not excuse the Vatican one pont.
Claudia, well put
Personally, I do not believe these men are out of touch. I believe that this is a deliberate PR counter-attack by the church, designed to defend it from having to deal with its responsibilities. They cannot countenance the morally right option - to admit the truth and their culpability - and so are trying to lie their way out of it. Such comments are aimed at providing excuses for their followers and supporters.
I fear you are right Egg. THe Vatican did not cling to its power by doing the right thing. The hierarchy will continue to spit in the face of those who do good in their communities
Jams
The media gets a fixation with certain figures. A great example was Richard Nixon. This fixation drives them into a feeding frenzy. Usually,this feeding frenzy manifests itself with those who are opposed to Marxism.
That being said the Church has recognized the problem and is moving forward. There are identical
problems in several denominations including Jewish, Scientologist and several other congregations.
As a Jewish person I am not offended by this Pope whose heart is in the right place. I will take
his actions over the arrogance of Williams who has zero right to question the moral authority of anyone. I am glad he has gotten around decades late to discuss the persecution of Christians without mentioning who is doing it. His peers in Nigeria do not need to mince words.
There is a serious spate of sexual
abuse of students by teachers. Has anyone vilified the teachers union
for similar arrogance. Of course not because the media and big education are cut from the same cloth.
The Catholic Church does wonderful
work in the community. I see this work each and every day and as a non Christian it is a vital community resource.
Perhaps you don't see the work Catholic Charities do each day. While its far left critics rail about the Church and AIDS its hospitals treated AIDS patients each and every day. While its leftist critics rationalize power mad dictators who speak empty words about the poor for the sake of power, the Church serves the poor as its calling.
Many of us forget this too easily.
As for Rowan Williams in the spirit of an ancient Rabbi "Toss the first rock at yourself".
As someone born and raised in the Catholoc Church I am fullt aware of the good work done my many members of the churhc. THe difference between the church at the coalface and the church at its centre are massive. At its heart the Pope is an absolute monarch with a bureaucracy with a simolar mindset.
Most adherents only stay in the church by ignoring many off the social teachings, in the West anyway.
But then, Cantalamessa and that other one, in the next post, are exactly what you said they are: mindless apparatchiks, where defending their (and their boss') backsides is considered.
Oh, and another thought: with high probability of being buggered by their elders in their childhood, they consider the problem being not very significant, I guess.
It was all about covering their arses so to speak Snoopy!
"The Pope’s personal preacher caused extreme offence by likening the attacks on the Church to the treatment meted out on Jews over the centuries.: Holy crap! Up until the 60s the Catholic Church blamed the Jews for crucifying Jesus for chrissakes.
That's true Pouty!
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