The CNN special, “What the Pope Knew,” which is being aggressively promoted by the network, was previewed today on CNN’s Belief Blog. Here’s the main indictment:

 

Though Church records show the abuse by Father [Lawrence] Murphy was brought to the attention of [Cardinal Joseph] Ratzinger and the [Vatican’s Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith] years ago, a Church trial against the headmaster was stopped and he was allowed to remain a priest.

 

The implication, of course, is that Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict, interfered with the course of justice against an admitted pedophile priest, overriding the protests of local Church officials.

 

The facts show exactly the opposite. And the proof is right there in the documents published by The New York Times along with its article. We address this case at length in “Pope Benedict XVI and the Sexual Abuse Crisis: Working for Reform and Renewal,” but here’s a quick summary:

 

·         Accusations were made against Father Murphy in the 1970s and reported to police and church authorities. The police failed to pursue the case.

 

·         The Milwaukee archdiocese removed Father Murphy in 1974 from his position at the school for deaf for deaf boys. The priest moved to a house owned by his family in Wisconsin. He never had a formal assignment in the new diocese (Superior), but did help out at parishes and with the deaf community there. He claimed to not have had sexual contact with anyone since 1974.

 

·         Alleged victims of Father Murphy (pre-1974) contacted the Milwaukee archdiocese again in the early 1990s.

 

·         Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert Weakland opened a trial against Father Murphy in 1996. Concerned that he needed a waiver of the statute of limitations (which at that time he didn’t; there was no statute of limitations then for grave crimes — delicta graviora — like sexual solicitation in the confessional), he wrote to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, headed by Cardinal Ratzinger. The cardinal’s No. 2, Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone, wrote Archbishop Weakland and told him to proceed.

 

·         In January 1998, Father Murphy wrote to Cardinal Ratzinger asking that the trial be stopped because the events had taken place decades earlier and thus violated the statute of limitations (although they did not), and because he was in poor health. (He died eight months later.)

 

·         In April, Archbishop Bertone wrote to the bishop in charge of Father Murphy’s trial. In it, he rejected the priest’s argument about the statute of limitations, but indirectly noted the priest’s ministry had never been restricted, and suggested there be other means of achieving justice for the priest and for the victims than through a trial.

 

·         The bishop decided to proceed with the trial anyway. But in meetings later in Rome with officials from the doctrinal congregation, he became concerned about the high burden of proof necessary in the case and the difficulty of the trial combined with Father Murphy’s ill health. In August, Archbishop Weakland wrote to the Vatican to say he had decided to drop the trial and instead restrict the abuser priest’s ministry and demand that he apologize to his victims.

 

·         Father Murphy died two days later.

 

So. Let’s recap:

 

·         Cardinal Ratzinger’s office gave the initial OK to the trial;

·         rejected Father Murphy’s request that the trial be suspended;

·         and later suggested the local bishop take faster action to achieve justice than a lengthy drawn-out trial of a dying priest.

 

How exactly is that thwarting justice? And how exactly does CNN have so little journalistic integrity that it can repeat inaccuracies that were widely debunked seven months ago? And for which there is clear, incontrovertible documentary evidence available?

 

“What the Pope Knew” is scheduled to air Sept. 25 and Sept. 26 at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.