Ever since the child abuse scandal broke about ten years ago, I have written off the Catholic Church. I have not heard or read anything in the last ten years to satisfy me that the Church has taken this scandal seriously or taken the steps necessary to help victims, punish abusers, prevent future cases of abuse, or hand over their internal investigation documents to authorities.
So I became a little skeptical when it was announced that the Pope was “resigning” from his position because of health reasons. Since Popes are elected for life, they all die in office from old age or illness and no one ever saw the need to resign. Now, rumors are surfacing which the Vatican is denying. If you recall, several months ago the Pope’s butler was arrested for stealing papal documents that were published in a book. But then, after he was convicted of theft, he was later pardoned, and all was suddenly “forgiven.” Everything got quiet…till now. Suddenly, the Pope is going to resign. Something that has never been done before, since 1415. Why now?
Several online websites are reporting that a scandal involving gay priests, prostitutes and blackmail is brewing at the Vatican and it was hoped that it would be squashed if the Pope resigned. The allegations point to high ranking members of the Vatican who have had “ties of a worldly nature” with gay men who are now allegedly blackmailing them. The charges are made in a 300 page report which outlines how priests were being extorted by gay laymen, who allegedly have photographs to go along with their threats and accusations. The three cardinals appointed to investigate have reportedly found there has been an underground “gay network” and “sex parties.“ There is even a rumor that a European government has issued an arrest warrant for the Pope, though this is very questionable.
The reasoning behind the resignation is to elect a new Pope as soon as possible; one who has no ties to the Vatican, Rome or the current situation, and bring him in to clean house. And because the Vatican population is largely Italian, they may be seeking a non-Italian Pope to bring about the changes needed to restore order.
As usual, the Church is denying rumors and acting as though it is the victim of media attacks. However, I find it difficult to believe anything the Church says to explain away this or any other scandal. Eventually the truth will come out. Too many people are involved in this “gay network” for one or more of them not to divulge names, dates, facts, photos or other evidence of what has been going on. I’m sure more will soon surface to confirm or refute the allegations being made. The 300 page, two volume report, will not be made public, it will be handed over to the new Pope. Meanwhile, even as the Church is denying allegations of the scandal, the resignation of Cardinal Keith O’Brien of Scotland has been “accelerated.” Hmmmm, you have to wonder why. Well stop wondering. It has the do with allegations being made against him, dating back 30 years, by four priests. Of course, following the lead of the church, O’Brien is contesting these charges and is seeking legal counsel. And also in the news is another Cardinal, Roger Mahoney of Los Angeles, who allegedly played a role in covering up sexual abuse by priests. And then, this past Friday, a Monsignor Balestrero, secretariat of state in the Vatican, was transferred to Columbia, who knows why? Everything is suspect and hush hush.
As for me, this is just another huge mark against a religion that fails to practice what it preaches and covers up its sins. Whatever happened to confession is good for the soul?
P. S. Meanwhile, the Pope changed the conclave rule to waive the customary waiting period of 15 days, so the Cardinals can get an early start. They can’t wait to get the new Pope in office so they can present him with the two volume, red covered, investigation into the aforementioned scandals, conducted by three cardinals. The new Pope is already going to be saddled with a huge headache, which the Church has been trying to contain instead of being forthcoming. Now where have we heard this before? I wonder what name the new Pope will take? I’d like to suggest Pope Jude, after the saint of impossible causes, because it seems where the Church is concerned, it’s mission impossible.
Since the Church is probably my biggest Pet Peeve, I wouldn’t be surprised f there is another blog in the near future.
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