Report: Pope Benedict Defrocked 400 Priests in Two Years

Report: Pope Benedict Defrocked 400 Priests in Two Years

Friday, 17 Jan 2014 04:37 PM

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/vatican-pope-benedict/2014/01/17/id/547763

A document obtained by The Associated Press on Friday shows Pope Benedict XVI defrocked nearly 400 priests over just two years for molesting children.

The statistics for 2011-12 show a dramatic increase over the 171 priests removed in 2008 and 2009, when the Vatican first provided details on the number of priests who have been defrocked. Prior to that, it had only publicly revealed the number of alleged cases of sexual abuse it had received.

The document was prepared from data the Vatican had been collecting to help the Holy See defend itself before a U.N. committee this week in Geneva.

Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican's U.N. ambassador in Geneva, referred to just one of the statistics in the course of eight hours of oftentimes pointed criticism and questioning from the U.N. human rights committee.

The statistics were compiled from the Vatican's own annual reports about the activities of its various offices, including the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which handles sex abuse cases. Although public, the annual reports are not readily available or sold outside Rome and are usually found in Vatican offices or Catholic university libraries.

An AP review of the reference books shows a remarkable evolution in the Holy See's in-house procedures to discipline pedophiles since 2001, when the Vatican ordered bishops to send cases of all credibly accused priests to Rome for review.

Then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger took action after determining that bishops around the world weren't following church law to put accused clerics on trial in church tribunals. Bishops routinely moved problem priests from parish to parish rather than subject them to canonical trials — or turn them into police.

For centuries, the church has had its own in-house procedures to deal with priests who sexually abuse children. One of the chief accusations from victims is that bishops put the church's own procedures ahead of civil law enforcement by often suggesting victims not go to police and keep accusations quiet while they are dealt with internally.

The maximum penalty for a priest convicted by a church tribunal is essentially losing his job: being defrocked, or removed from the clerical state. There are no jail terms and nothing to prevent an offender from raping again.

According to the 2001 norms Ratzinger pushed through, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith reviews each case sent to Rome and then instructs bishops how to proceed, either by launching an administrative process against the priest if the evidence is overwhelming or a church trial. At every step of the way the priest is allowed to defend himself.

The Congregation started reporting numbers only in 2005, which is where Tomasi's spreadsheet starts off. U.N. officials said Friday that the committee has not received the document.

Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger)

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http://atheism.about.com/od/benedictxvi/i/RatzingerNazi.htm

Note: Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) is the pope emeritus for the Roman Catholic Church.

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John J. Studzinski is a papal knighthood knight, a director at the Human Rights Watch, and a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Human Rights Watch, the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and the Catholic Relief Services.

 George Soros was a benefactor for the Human Rights Watch, the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, and the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the International Rescue Committee.

Thomas R. Pickering is a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and was a United Nations U.S. ambassador.

Susan E. Rice was a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and the United Nations U.S. ambassador for the Barack Obama administration.

Madeleine K. Albright is an honorary director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, and was the United Nations U.S. ambassador.

Samantha Power was a director at the International Rescue Committee, and is the United Nations U.S. ambassador.

Elie Wiesel is an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, and was a messenger of peace for the United Nations.

Kenneth F. Hackett was the president for the Catholic Relief Services, and the U.S. ambassador for the Holy See.