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Pope Benedict XVI may have planned on retiring with dignity, but more and more it looks like his legacy is going up in smoke.
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I've been reading more about the ongoing scandals in the Roman Catholic church today. What an unholy mess. Sexual abuse must NEVER be covered up. Shame on you, those in the higher echelons of the Roman Catholic church. You aren't the only faith that has seen scandal, but you sure have done a hell of a lot to almost completely discredit yourself as a faith worthy of devotion. Here is a pretty thorough article describing the latest disgraces:
Cardinal’s departure darkens mood as pope allows early conclave
by Philip Pullella, Reuters
VATICAN CITY - A senior cleric resigned under duress on Monday and Pope Benedict took the rare step of changing Vatican law to allow his successor to be elected early, adding to a sense of crisis around the Roman Catholic Church.
With just three days left before Benedict becomes the first pope in some six centuries to step down, he accepted the resignation of Britain’s only cardinal elector, Archbishop Keith O’Brien, who was to have voted for the next pope.
O’Brien, who retains the title of cardinal, has denied allegations that he behaved inappropriately with priests over a period of 30 years, but said he was quitting the job of archbishop of Edinburgh.
He could have attended the conclave despite his resignation because he is still a cardinal under 80, but said he would stay away because he did not want media attention to be focused on himself instead of the process of choosing the next leader of the 1.2 billion-member Church.
Insert from The Guardian: The claims against O'Brien, reported in the Observer, surround allegations of "unwanted behaviour" following late-night drinking and "inappropriate contact" involving the three priests, who are all serving within the cardinal's diocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh, and a former priest who is now married.
One complainant alleges the cardinal and he developed an "inappropriate relationship" that led to him needing long-term psychological counselling.
His dramatic self-exclusion came as the Vatican continued to resist calls by some Catholics to stop other cardinals tainted by sex scandals, such as U.S. Cardinal Roger Mahony, from taking part.
Catholic activists have petitioned Mahony to exclude himself from the conclave so as not to insult survivors of sexual abuse by priests committed while he was archbishop of Los Angeles.
In that post from 1985 until 2011, Mahony worked to send priests known to be abusers out of state to shield them from law enforcement scrutiny in the 1980s, according to church files unsealed under a U.S. court order last month.
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