Pope Benedict XVI and the Sexual Abuse Crisis Book 
News and Reviews

Reviews and news about the new book from OSV by Greg Erlandson and Matthew Bunson. Questions? Email feedback@osv.com.

News

Rome Reports article and video interview with Greg Erlandson, 'A book investigates the long battle of Benedict XVI against sexual abuse'

Greg Erlandson's Fox News interview

Greg Erlandson's interview on DiscerningHearts.com (podcast)

"Pope Being Unfairly Blamed for Abuse Scandal," by Dan Weil on Newsmax.com (article and video [below])

Matthew Bunson interview on Tim Drake's blog (National Catholic Register)

"OSV publisher, editor on Benedict and sex abuse," by Dennis Coday, National Catholic Reporter.

"Setting the Record Straight,' by Father John Flynn, LC. The ongoing revelations about sexual abuses by priests in the Catholic Church is bringing unprecedented attention on the role of the Vatican and particularly on the actions of Benedict XVI. Read it on Zenit

"A Response to Time Magazine's Cover Story on the Pope," blog post by Greg Erlandson, was included on Catholic Exchange. 

Read the news release from OSV about the book on PR Newswire: "Pope Benedict's Record Speaks for Itself in Fight Against Clergy"

"Authors defend Pope Benedict, say sex crisis will mold legacy," by Cathy Lynn Grossman. "... Pope Benedict XVI's legacy will be shaped by his response to the explosive global clergy sex-abuse crisis, say two Catholic authors who detail and defend his record in a book published this week.

The Vatican and Benedict are accused of "acts of neglect, cover-up, and disregard for the plight of the victims," they write. Pope Benedict XVI and the Sexual Abuse Crisis: Working for Reform and Renewal is their rebuttal...." Read the entire article on USAToday

Transcript of the chat with the authors hosted by USAToday

Review

"Inside the Pages" Welcomes Dr. Matthew Bunson. "...Please don’t say you have  formed your final opinion on this tragic period in Church history without reading “Pope Benedict XVI and the Sexual Abuse Crisis: Working for Reform and Renewal”. Don’t count on the secular media (and inparticular the NYT) to educate yourself on this matter.  No one has done a better job chronicling this crisis and our Holy Father’s true response to this matter, then these two writers.  The resources and prayers in the back of the book are excellent!" Read it here

Review

"At last, all the facts between two covers" by Michael Cook: "... A couple of Catholic journalists for Our Sunday Visitor, Gregory Erlandson and Matthew Bunson, have taken this to heart and rushed to press with a crisp, clear account of the recent turmoil in the Catholic Church. Pope Benedict XVI and the Sexual Abuse Crisis draws together the main threads of the debate without flinching from the misdeeds of the clergy or fulminating over the distortions of the media.

While the book does not pretend to give an exhaustive account of the major scandals and how they were addressed on a local and on a global level, it imposes an intelligible narrative on the rain of facts, smears, potted history, arcane terminology and revulsion which have filled the media since March...." Read the entire review on Mercatornet.com

Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly, "Our Sunday Visitor book addresses pope, abuses,"

Review

"A necessary read and serious study on the abuse crisis," by Robert Lockwood (Pittsburgh Catholic). "...The title doesn’t make you want to read it — “Pope Benedict XVI and the Sexual Abuse Crisis.” The daily carpet-bombing of the church in media has given us more than our fill on the topic, and many of us would be reluctant to go through the rack and rope of a book-length treatment.

But that would be a mistake. This is an important book that is neither a whitewash of the church nor a tabloid rehash...." Read the entire review from the Pittsburgh Catholic