What did he know and when did he know it?

When Benedict was first elevated to the papacy, we learned that he had been a member of the Hitler Youth. True, he was too young (in his mid-teens) to
be morally or legally responsible by modern law, but it was unsettling. Now we learn this. Again, no convincing culpability as yet, but still unsettling. Is this really the person to be leading the largest church in the world and speaking and acting on behalf of its members?

Obviously ordination in any religion is not assurance of good behavior !!!!!

One assumes the leaders of atheism are ordained by their words and books. Are there pedophiles in the atheist community?

There is no heaven of glory bright, and no hell where sinners roast. Here and now is our day of torment! Here and now is our day of joy! Here and now is our opportunity! Choose ye this day, this hour, for no
redeemer liveth!

The only way to cure the cancer of catholicism, and stop the pedophilia, is to begin each ceremony of ordination to the deaconate with castration. Let any priest who wants to be celibate make a gift of his balls to jesus.

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Why did today's prelates, preachers and rabbis, so focused on society's sexual sins, lose sight of clerical sexual sins?
"
FEAR, SHAME and GUILT and COVER IT ALL UP!!!

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah%27s_Witnesses_and_child_sex_abuse

“As with other religious organizations, Jehovah's Witnesses have been obliged in recent years to develop child protection policies to deal with cases of child abuse in their congregations. Details of the policy have been published in Jehovah's Witnesses' publications and press releases issued by their Office of Public Information.[1][2] Some details are found only in letters to elders which, while solely for internal use, have been made available on the Internet.”

From: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1855948_1861760_1862212,00.html#ixzz0jg0lEyZj

“Facing calls to curb child sex abuse within its churches, in June the Southern Baptist Convention — the largest U.S. religious body after the Catholic Church — urged local hiring committees to conduct federal background checks but rejected a proposal to create a central database of staff and clergy who have been either convicted of or indicted on charges of molesting minors. The SBC decided against such a database in part because its principle of local autonomy means it cannot compel individual churches to report any information. And while the headlines regarding churches and pedophilia remain largely focused on Catholic parishes, the lack of hierarchical structure and systematized record-keeping in most Protestant churches makes it harder not only for church leaders to impose standards, but for interested parties to track allegations of abuse. "

Continued below:

From: www.eutimes.net/category/criticism/pedophilia/

"Yet another prominent Orthodox rabbi has been charged with sexual abuse. This time it is Rabbi Mordechai Elon, one of the foremost rabbinic leaders of the Israeli Orthodox movement and former rosh yeshiva at the flagship Yeshivat HaRav, where last year a Palestinian mounted an assault which left several students dead. The result was that students of the yeshiva and other far right Jews went on a rampage and tried to burn down the home of the family of the perpetrator of the attack. Elon’s brother is Benny, a former MK for a far-right pro-settler party.

At one time the rabbi was so renowned he’d hoped to be named chief rabbi. Alas, that hope is all but dashed as he was charged several years ago with abusing boys at his yeshiva:

Takana, a rabbinic forum established in 2003 to clamp down on sexual misconduct by Orthodox educators, went public February 15 with allegations that Mordechai “Moti” Elon had taken advantage of his influence over male students and performed “acts at odds with sacred and moral values.”

The panel later said that two people, whose complaints alleged acts from about 25 years ago, had been under 18 at the time. More recent alleged acts involved students of Elon who were 18 or older. Since its initial disclosure, the panel reports having received one more complaint of an alleged underage encounter…

What is unusual about this case is that a splinter group of the Orthodox community is taking the position that the entire prosecution is an attempt to destroy rabbinic authority and the Orthodox movement. It calls for refusal to cooperate with state authorities (or to deal with the charge through a beyt din)."

Obviously ordination in any religion is not assurance of good behavior !!!!!

Pope Benedict has become, in essence, the Richard Nixon of the Catholic Church. He should resign.

I'm amazed that so many people are still loyal to the Catholic Church. What would it take for these people to finally conclude that the institution is unworthy of their loyalty (and money)? Many have woken up and realized this truth, but far too many have not.

If the Catholic Church ended the practice of priest celibacy, would that put an end to the recent scandal? No, in fact even if the priests put an end to the practice of child rape and the systematic cover-up of such crimes that would still not end this scandal.

For a long time it has been known that the Catholic Church has been obstructing justice. They have moved criminal priests from city to city, country to country so that they could avoid prosecution for their crimes.

You can read the rest of my response to this topic:
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-8928-Philadelphia-Atheism-Examiner~y2010m3d30-On-Faith-Is-the-Pope-above-the-law

I will be responding to every issue posted in the 'On Faith' section. If you would like to be notified when my new response is up, please subscribe.

I agree that Pope Benedict needs to declare that any allegation of abuse be reported, investigated and punished appropriately. I would much prefer that to a resignation. Based on my limited knowledge through media reports, sadly I have doubts whether a cardinal could be found who is not complicit in past coverups of this sort.

As a former Catholic, a humanist, and a citizen, I am disgusted that the Church seeks to directly impact public policy (such as direct lobbying by bishops to remove abortion coverage from healthcare reform) while casually exempting itself from laws others must obey -- at the expense of innocent children, no less.

Yes, Benedict should resign, but he won't. The Church is slow to learn from its mistakes.

The Catholic Church would do well not to let this one slide....Pope Benedict needs to resign.