Attacks on the Pope from within and outside the Church

Posted in [by Greg Erlandson], [Uncategorized] By GREG ERLANDSON

Noted Vaticanist Sandro Magister’s most recent post concerns the attacks on Pope Benedict and how the Pope understands these attacks.

In the Sept. 3 post of his widely read e-newsletter, www.chiesa, Magister mentions two recent books analyzing the criticism of Pope Benedict: Our book, “Pope Benedict XVI and the Sexual Abuse Crisis: Working for Reform and Renewal” (Our Sunday Visitor), and a new book by two Italian journalists called “Attack on Ratzinger” (Paolo Rodari, Andrea Tornielli, "Attacco a Ratzinger", Piemme, Milano).

The sexual abuse crisis has become a touchstone for many of the attacks in the past year, which is what Matthew Bunson and I have written about. The most recent attack, slated to be broadcast Sept. 25, will be a CNN special called "What the Pope Knew." From a press release released by the cable news network, it looks to be a rehash of many of the allegations of the past year. One of the producers told Our Sunday Visitor that the show had been completed for several months. According to the press release:

CNN national correspondent Gary Tuchman reports for What the Pope Knew, investigating some of the most notorious pedophile priest cases in the United States and finds that the pope, as Cardinal Ratzinger, had direct responsibility for how they were handled. CNN’s investigation reveals that Ratzinger opposed or slowed down the defrocking of some priests, including convicted child molesters.

Beyond the sexual abuse crisis, Rodari and Tornielli see an attack on the Pope that consists of three fronts:

The first is an attack by those in society who profoundly disagree both with the Church and with this Pope’s articulation of the Church’s teachings. One example to be broadcast on the ~~BBC~~ Channel Four three days before the papal visit to England is a wide-ranging attack that ostensibly focuses on Benedict but in truth is a broadside at the Church’s positions on a wide range of issues, from embryonic stem cell research and contraception to abortion and even liberation theology. According to the show's host, "human rights campaigner" Peter Tatchell,

The programme questions the Pope’s policies on a range of issues including his opposition to contraception, condom use and embryonic stem cell research, as well the Pope’s mishandling of the child sex abuse scandal, his distortions of the life and ideas of Cardinal Newman and his readmission to the church of the holocaust denier, Bishop Richard Williamson.

The second front, and somewhat related to the first, Rodari and Tornielli argue, consists of those within the Church, “including not a few priests and bishops,” who see Benedict as opposing their desire to modernize the Church.

The third front is within the Vatican itself: “Those officials of the Vatican curia who hurt the pope instead of helping him, out of incapacity, ignorance, or even opposition.”

Magister argues that Pope Benedict is clearly aware that he is opposed within and without the Church, and sees this as part of the current struggle. He also believes that such attacks are very often focused on the priesthood and the liturgy, two of his priorities, and he has consistently called for a renewal and reform of the entire Church. Magister writes:

It can already be intuited from this that for Benedict XVI, even the horrible year of 2010 is to be lived as a year of grace, just like the previous years, likewise riddled with attacks against the Church and the pope.

For him, everything holds together. The tribulation produced by sin is the condition of a humanity in need of salvation. A salvation that comes only from God, and is offered in the Church with the sacraments administered by the priests.

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Pope Benedict XVI and the Sexual Abuse Crisis

Attacks on the Pope from within and outside the Church

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