Some more thoughts on the Pope in all the child abuse accusations

I must admit I re-started my blog with my last post, which has ended up as a defence of the Pope.

Again, a few points:

1. This blog was set-up to defend the faith. Nail colours to the mast and all that. In other words, rather than quietly sit back while people took pot shots at our faith, this blog wanted to fire back some potshots in defence of the faith.

2. What I wanted to emphasise more than anything was the lop-sided view that seems to be out there. The anti-catholic leaning, the anti-Pope and so on.

Now, I suppose that one cannot defend the faith without defending the temporal leader. And, at present, that is His Holiness, Benedict XVI.

3. What I said earlier was to put another slant to all the accusations against the Pope. And, as an example of how he has gone against the tide was his treatment of Fr. Marcial Maciel Degollado, who seems to have had Papal favour from the previous Pontiff.

Then Cardinal Ratzinger went after Maciel, despite that favour the former enjoyed from John Paul II.

I don't want to go further on this point, but do want to include some quotes from another blog. Also, from the same Telegraph stable, that of George Pitcher. BTW, he is an Anglican priest. Take that for whatever it's worth.

He says, inter alia:

Cardinal Schonborn has also revealed that he had discussed the allegations against Cardinal Groer with Pope Benedict when he was head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The then Cardinal Ratzinger had apparently wanted cardinal Groer to be properly investigated. But a group inside the Vatican – “the diplomatic party in the State Secretariat who wanted to shove everything on to the media”, according to The Tablet – had protected him. Cardinal Schonborn distinctly recalls Ratzinger saying afterwards: “The other party got its way.”

He goes to mention Ratzinger's refusal to accept favours from the Legion, when he (the cardinal) went after Maciel. Then Pitcher adds:

The role of financial corruption in this crisis gives it another moral gravity. But Pope Benedict seems to be emerging better than some observers, perhaps led by American lawyers who see a fast buck to be made from compensation class actions, would like him to. As Cardinal Ratzinger, he evidently tried in the past to be part of the solution, rather than an accessory to the problem. As Pope, he really does have the opportunity and authority to be that solution.

Now, this doesn't put paid to the whole affair. It does, however, point out from another source, some points not covered earlier.

And, to give this more gravitas, as if it needed it, Damian Thompson, in a comment under the forementioned post, states:

This is a clear and fair analysis from an Anglican commentator. George, you put to shame Catholic hacks who have lazily repeated inaccurate statements in the media just because they hate the Pope.

Again, I put the above points for all it's worth.