And That’s the Problem, Cardinal Brady

Yesterday, Cardinal Sean Brady of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland unintentionally addressed the crux of the problem of child molesters in the RCC. Brady issued an apology in Dublin for the way he handled accusations of child abuse decades ago. He said he was “ashamed” that he took part in forcing boys to sign secrecy oaths about a priest who had abused them. However, Brady said, “We had no guidance. We were in uncharted territory, and now we have higher standards, thankfully.” There you have it: THE PROBLEM! That a priest or an archbishop or a cardinal or a pope or ANYONE would feel he needs written guidance as to what his response should be when a ten-year-old is molested by a priest, is a horrendous indictment of the Roman Catholic Church. That a priest would actually force a ten-year-old to sign an oath of secrecy about being molested by another priest is unbelievable. That the Roman Catholic Church would approve of such behavior at any point in time, whether now or twenty or a thousand years ago, is a horrible condemnation of the Roman Catholic Church. Cardinal Brady said he was “not a manager and not a bishop” at the time he participated in forcing the ten-year-old to the oath of secrecy. Like that absolves him from responsibility? That is disgusting. And the Roman Catholic Church is defending its policy of keeping mum about pedophile priests by claiming that it helps to protect the victims. NO! IT DOES NOT! AND IT NEVER DID! The policy of the RCC regarding keeping pedophile priest abuses a secret has always and ONLY protected the priests and the church. Oh! And another thing. The New York Times reports today: “Some Irish church officials have said the problem has been deepened by confusion over the interpretation of a 2001 directive by (Pope) Benedict, then a cardinal, reiterating a strict requirement for secrecy in handling abuse cases. The directive also gave the authority in handling such cases to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Benedict was prefect of the congregation from 1982 until becoming pope in 2005.” So, when Pope Ratz was Archbishop Ratz, he not only moved pedophile priest Peter Hullermann around in Germany from Diocese to Diocese to keep Hullermann’s molesting crimes secret, but when Cardinal Ratz became "The Enforcer" for Pope John Paul II, Ratz turned over the authority for handling abuse cases to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which he himself ruled with an iron hand. Is there any doubt about Pope Ratz’s profound, deep and long-standing involvement in protecting and shielding pedophile priests in the Roman Catholic Church? Not by me!