Pope Benedict XVI

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Benedict Stonewalled on Defrocking Pedophile Priest

AP digs up 25-year-old letter that refutes pope's story

(Newser) - The future Pope Benedict XVI resisted pleas to defrock a US priest with a record of sexually molesting children, citing concerns including "the good of the universal church," according to a 1985 letter bearing his signature. The correspondence, obtained by the AP, is the strongest challenge yet to...

Jon Stewart Pummels Pope
 Jon Stewart Pummels Pope 
Apr 8, 2010 6:09 AM CDT

Jon Stewart Pummels Pope

Host says Domino's Pizza more contrite than Church

(Newser) - Maureen Dowd has been nipping at Pope Benedict's heels, but you know you're in trouble when Jon Stewart takes aim at you. On last night's Daily Show , Stewart blasted the pontiff's defiance over his handling of sex abuse cases. "If any other organization had done anything close to...

Hey Benedict, Maybe You'll Listen to a Man

'Times' scribe turns column over to brother

(Newser) - Maureen Dowd suspends her blitzkrieg on Pope Benedict and the Catholic Church today and—because the all-boys network apparently is unable "to take a woman’s voice seriously"—turns her column over to her conservative, creche-collecting, "Vatican-II-made-me-wince" brother, Kevin. But a Dowd is a Dowd, and the...

Nixon-esque Pope Must Convert
 Nixon-esque Pope Must Convert 
Timothy Shriver
Apr 5, 2010 12:15 PM CDT

Nixon-esque Pope Must Convert

The Catholic Church is embroiled in its version of Watergate

(Newser) - The Catholic Church’s current scandal bears an uncanny resemblance to Watergate. What at first looks like an isolated crime has slowly escalated, ultimately revealing corruption at the highest levels of authority. The pope isn’t going to resign—the church isn’t a democracy, and it needn’t bow...

Hardest Word for Pope: Sorry

 Hardest Word for Pope: Sorry 
Apr 5, 2010 8:10 AM CDT

Hardest Word for Pope: Sorry

Why Benedict won't be apologizing anytime soon

(Newser) - Pope Benedict didn't join the many bishops in countries plagued by sex abuse scandals who said "sorry" during this Holy Week, and you won't hear that word come from his mouth any time soon. That's because the Pope "operates on an entirely different public relations plane to media-savvy...

Pope's Preacher Addresses Anti-Semitism Remark Backlash

Raniero Cantalamessa says he's sorry 'if I hurt feelings'

(Newser) - The Vatican official who compared the fallout from the church's alleged cover-up of child sex-abuse cases to the "more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism" has acknowledged the subsequent firestorm of criticism but stopped short of apologizing. "If—and it was not my intention to do so—I hurt the...

It's Time to Man Up, Benedict
 It's Time to Man Up, Benedict 
MAUREEN DOWD
Apr 4, 2010 9:52 AM CDT

It's Time to Man Up, Benedict

Vatican needs to stop covering up and admit its role

(Newser) - Maureen Dowd's column never rests on Sundays, and she takes this Easter to continue her full-on assault of Pope Benedict, this time eviscerating the Vatican's chief exorcist's assertion that the New York Times' unfavorable coverage of the sex abuse scandal has been "prompted by the Devil." "The...

Pope Hailed as 'Unfailing' Leader at Easter Mass

Pontiff keeps his silence on sex abuse scandals

(Newser) - A senior cardinal defended Pope Benedict XVI from "petty gossip" today, praising his "unfailing" leadership, even as the pontiff maintained his silence on mounting accusations of sex abuse cover-ups during his Easter message. At the end of the two-hour long ceremony, a weary-looking Benedict delivered the papacy's traditional...

Pope Waited Years to Defrock Ariz. Priest

Ratzinger's actions as cardinal under new scrutiny

(Newser) - The abuse cases of two Arizona priests cast further doubt on whether Pope Benedict XVI shielded pedophiles as a cardinal. Then Cardinal Ratzinger took over the abuse case of Rev. Michael Teta, then let it languish at the Vatican for a dozen years despite repeated pleas from the bishop for...

Church Sex Abuse Fallout Compared to Anti-Semitism

Pope Benedict's personal preacher defends pontiff against attacks

(Newser) - A high-level Vatican official who serves as preacher to the papal household is under fire for saying in his Good Friday homily that criticism of the way the pontiff has handled the child sex abuse scandal is comparable to "the most shameful aspects of anti-Semitism." The Rev. Raniero...

'Real Men' Reach for Rosary Beads

Boomers recast prayer aid as 'weapon of spiritual warfare'

(Newser) - Pope Benedict says rosary beads are “experiencing a new springtime,” and the signs of the season are unexpected—American men. They're creating beads out of ball bearings or nylon, giving their sons rosaries with football-shaped beads, and using iPhone apps to pray. In Texas, the pickup-driving, camo-bedecked founder...

Vatican Biggies Defend Pope, Blast NY Times

Cardinal: NY Times unfair to church, Benedict

(Newser) - The Vatican has come out swinging over Pope Benedict's handling of sexual abuse cases, with one top cardinal blasting the New York Times for unfair coverage on the Vatican website and in a Times interview , while another claims the pontiff has immunity from prosecution. "The Church is not a...

Vatican: Pope Deserves Praise, Not Scorn

Cardinal criticizes New York Times, defends pontiff

(Newser) - The Vatican defended Pope Benedict's handling of long-ago abuse cases, lashed out at the New York Times for coverage “deficient by any reasonable standards of fairness,” and said the pontiff actually deserved praise instead of condemnation. “We owe Pope Benedict a great debt of gratitude for introducing...

Vatican Tries to Shield Pope from Lawsuit

Offers 3 reasons he isn't responsible for abuse, and can't testify

(Newser) - The Vatican is launching a legal defense that it hopes will shield the pope from a lawsuit in Kentucky seeking to have him answer questions under oath about clerical sex abuse. Vatican lawyers plan to argue that the pope has immunity as head of state, that American bishops who oversaw...

Vatican Response Rubs Salt Into Abuse Victims' Wounds

Survivors aren't trying to hurt the Pope, say survivors

(Newser) - A man who says he was among some 200 deaf boys allegedly molested by a priest in Wisconsin said yesterday the Vatican's defensive responses to revelations about the case make him feel like he did when he was 12, when no one would listen to him about the abuse—while...

Scandal Threatens John Paul II's Sainthood

Questions swirl over late Pope's record on abuse

(Newser) - Questions swirled about John Paul II's legacy at a ceremony yesterday marking the 5th anniversary of his death. The inexplicable healing of a young French nun from Parkinson's disease had seemed like the miracle required for his sainthood. But, according to a Polish newspaper, there are now doubts the nun...

Minn. Lawyer Who Targeted Pope Has Won $60M in Settlements

Jeff Anderson wants to question Benedict under oath

(Newser) - Before he last week released documents showing that an office led by Pope Benedict XVI halted a trial against a priest accused of molesting some 200 deaf boys, Jeff Anderson had already filed thousands of lawsuits alleging sex abuse by priests and won more than $60 million for his clients....

Get Lost, Benedict, We Need a Woman for the Job

Pope is hopelessly tainted, and it's time for a nun to right the church

(Newser) - Maureen Dowd continues her rant on the scandal-ridden Catholic patriarchy for a second Sunday, calling for Pope Benedict to "go home to Bavaria," while the church gets itself a "nope"—"a nun who is pope." Dowd isn't buying claims that the "sin-crazed 'Rottweiler'...

Scandal Swirls as Pope Opens Holy Week

Vatican digs in, insists Benedict acted appropriately

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI has opened the church's solemn Holy Week amid increasing questions about his own handling of priest sex abuse cases. Benedict's procession entered St. Peter's Square today at the start of Palm Sunday Mass. The pontiff, in crimson and golden vestments, waved to the throngs of faithful waving...

Priest on Sex Abuse: 'I Went Too Far'

German blames lack of supervision, 'proximity to pupils'

(Newser) - As a wave of sex abuse threatens to engulf Pope Benedict's papacy, a German priest "granted leave" a month ago takes the issue head on: "I know that I had some contact with pupils where I went too far, and which I do not approve of today."...

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