A prominent cardinal, in a marked departure from tradition, stood near Pope Benedict XVI at Easter Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday and delivered pointedly public support in the face of growing anger over the Catholic Church’s sex abuse scandal ”” a topic untouched by the pope in his Easter appearances.
The remarks on Easter Sunday, the day Christians celebrate the joy of Jesus’ resurrection, came among a chorus of denunciations by church officials of what they have framed as a campaign of denigration of the church and its pontiff.
There were some expressions of remorse over the abuse scandal from church pulpits in Europe. But the ferocity of the mainstream response defending the pope speaks to the nature of the papacy: its occupant inherits the throne of Peter and plays a unique role as a religious figure and secular leader. And so, some churchmen and lay Catholics are interpreting questions about Benedict’s role in the scandal as an attack on the faith.
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Easter Support for Pope, and Some Apologies
A prominent cardinal, in a marked departure from tradition, stood near Pope Benedict XVI at Easter Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday and delivered pointedly public support in the face of growing anger over the Catholic Church’s sex abuse scandal ”” a topic untouched by the pope in his Easter appearances.
The remarks on Easter Sunday, the day Christians celebrate the joy of Jesus’ resurrection, came among a chorus of denunciations by church officials of what they have framed as a campaign of denigration of the church and its pontiff.
There were some expressions of remorse over the abuse scandal from church pulpits in Europe. But the ferocity of the mainstream response defending the pope speaks to the nature of the papacy: its occupant inherits the throne of Peter and plays a unique role as a religious figure and secular leader. And so, some churchmen and lay Catholics are interpreting questions about Benedict’s role in the scandal as an attack on the faith.
Read it all.