Could Pope Benedict lose his job over German sex scandals?

Posted on Friday, March 12, 2010 at 05:47 PM

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Could this pope lose his job?

The Associated Press reports on Friday that 'Church Abuse Scandal Now Reaches Pope.'

The New York Times headline this Friday evening says that the church sex scandal on Germany is creeping ever closer to Benedict .

"Church Abuse Scandals in Germany Edges Closer to Pope" it says. Where have we heard this kind of language before? With Nixon and Watergate, Clinton and Lewinsky, and so on.

The German media is digging deep and digging fast to find out what role our current pontiff had in a scandal involving an abusive priest who was allowed back to his ministry and abused again in Germany in 1980.

The pope was archbishop of the diocese at the time.What is clear is that he ordered the priest into therapy and that a subordinate had taken responsibility for later admitting him to the ministry.

The German Catholic church has accepted that the archdiocese made "serious mistakes" in how they handled the issue.

Benedict hardly expected how he handled child abuse to be his possible legacy . In Ireland, the U.S. and now in Germany huge questions are being asked about how this horrific crime was dealt with. In all three cases the answer seems to be very badly.

Could this issue take down the pope, maybe force him to resign early?

That seems a very long shot right now, but the more the drumbeat continues, as happened in Ireland, the more it becomes inevitable that bishops resign.In Ireland's case four have already done so.

But this is the pope,who reigns until he passes from this earth . There is no mechanism to replace him --except,possibly, the power of pubic opinion and damage to the church if this scandal in Germany continues to mushroom as some are predicting it will.

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kickstar | Mar 19, 2010, 01:14 AM EDT

Only if we are lucky will this agent of Perdition lose his red shoes. The best and nicest Germans of all are the Northern Germans and they are mostly Protestant, In Germany you don't get a choice to give to the church it stopped directly out of your paycheck you just have to nominate the church Protestant or Catholic.

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knowthyself | Mar 16, 2010, 01:15 AM EDT

I Believe it will take more then the Sex Scandals to bring down the Pope or the catholic Church . One only has to go back in History and see the Criminal Acts of the Popes & The Slaughter of whole cities and Towns by the Pope , The Vatican always comes out Smelling like Roses by saying we were doing GODS Work. Pope Benedict will stay in his political/Religious office until Death . hes above the Law. He just Sweeps it under the Holy Vatican Rug.

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McNamara31 | Mar 15, 2010, 08:05 PM EDT

Since 2002 when the abuse cases began to appear globally, Cardinal Ratzinger, and then as Pope Benedict, was in a position to edict how those cases, and the abusing priests were to be handled. So, when it comes to accountability, "All roads lead to Rome." According to Canon Law 332 (isn't google great) The Pope is allowed to resign. In 1045, Pope Benedict IX resigned, followed by Gregory VI in 1046, Celestine V in 1294, and Gregory XII in 1415.

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missspook1994 | Mar 15, 2010, 06:31 PM EDT

This has been a religion that has been broken for decades by the good old boys. It's time to do away with the idea of a Pope who can be just as corrupt and any other person and come join the 21st century instead of trying to hang on to the middle ages opressive rule by hate and fear.

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fegus123 | Mar 15, 2010, 04:29 PM EDT

OH well, it is more than overdue to get rid of the whole idea of a pope, and include women into the ordained ministry. Besides, women are usually better at sharing and cooperating. These ridiculous "princes of the church" should be dethroned, it is long overdue.

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Nicomax | Mar 15, 2010, 01:12 PM EDT

Maybe after he leaves as Pope, he can move in with ex-Cardinal Bernard Law and they can discuss the scandals to no end.

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Advocate | Mar 15, 2010, 10:06 AM EDT

Church 'made-made', non-Biblical, rules for celebacy, which is against Yahweh/God made human nature is to blame. It is no-where in Scripture. Yahweh made man to marry, Etc., etc.; Popery made 'Rules' regarding same are anti-human nature as Yahweh intended..., thus are foolish and at fault.

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knockatee | Mar 15, 2010, 08:52 AM EDT

Absolutely yes. What kind of morality is he passing along to his followers?

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IrishVoice | Mar 13, 2010, 08:46 PM EST

i feel very strongly about this entire situation. Yes indeed, the pope could and should lose his position as vicar of the Catholic Church if he was involved in a cover-up, just as the four bishops in Ireland had to resign because of a similar situation. I mean, who is kidding whom, the truth is often bitter. Now it is so apparent why he is reluctant to make a definitive statement on the child abuse scandals.

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Watchman | Mar 13, 2010, 10:03 AM EST

To answer your question, Niall ... no, the Pope isn't about to join the dole queue. Can't you just see him standing at the bus stop on the Via Borgo Vittorio, asking one of the tour guides if he knows the way to the social security office. It ain't gonna happen.

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