Thanks to Franco Origlia/Getty Images!
You know things are bad when you are a target of jokes by the late night comedians.
Here’s one by David Letterman…
“There’s a lot of tension in the world. Last weekend, Pope Benedict XVI apologized to the Muslims… Altar boys, on the other hand, are still waiting for their apology…”
So what’s funny about the Pope right now?
Unfortunately, not much.
You might remember a huge sex scandal in the Catholic church revealed a few years back ?
Among other things, it involved priests accused of sexually abusing those in their care.
BBC reported that, while Pope Benedict was a Cardinal in the 1990’s, he ignored complaints about a United States priest who was thought to have sexually abused some 200 deaf boys.
For 24 years, Father Lawrence C. Murphy, a priest leading a school for the deaf in Wisconsin, molested scores of children.
He should be in prison, right?
A new report suggests Murphy remained a member of the Church after the currrent Pope, then known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, intervened on his behalf.
Pope Benedict, in a letter to the victims and their families, stated,
You have suffered grievously, and I am truly sorry. I know that nothing can undo the wrong you have endured. Your trust has been betrayed, and your dignity has been violated.
Now, this is getting attention not just from legal authorities, but from pop stars as well.
Too young to know who Sinead O’Connor is? She’s an Irish singer, known for that seriously catchy song, “Nothing Compares 2 U,” her shiny bald head (seriously, it’s shiny!), and tearing up a photo of the Pope on Saturday Night Live in 1992.
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Sinead tore up the photo of Pope John Paul II to protest sexual abuse and violence from clergy members across Europe and Ireland.
Sinead is now arguing that the current Pope’s letter is just not enough. She stated that the church has failed the Irish citizens in the past by not apologizing to the victims personally, and is failing the current victims today.
Also, she did not spare on complaint of the Pope’s actions. Sinead, always in the heart of religious controversy, stated that,
There should be a full criminal investigation of the Catholic hierarchy of any country in which this has been an issue. There should be a full criminal investigation of the Vatican. There should be a full criminal investigation of the pope. The pope should stand down…
Clearly, this is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. Should the church be able to handle this privately, or should authority figures become involved? What do YOU think?
[...] may have read our coverage of the Sex abuse scandal that has been rocking the Catholic church for the past 8 years. With [...]