The confluence of Holy Week and the ever widening lens aimed squarely at the Pope in a "what did he know and what did he do about it" kind of way is exactly as it should be. It would be easier to enter into the tomb of Holy Week and celebrate Easter without such sordid distractions. But it also would have been easier to "let this cup pass from me," but that's not what happened. So, during this solemn time, this time of penance and spiritual renewal, Pope Benedict needs to come clean and like John XXIII, open up the windows, but in this case, to let the stink out. If indeed then Cardinal Ratzinger ignored the information about pedophile, criminal priests and allowed them to continue, then he needs to take up his cross and admit what he did. And if he did not know, that's a good thing. Let him become a different kind of rottweiler now, railing against abusive priests and an organizational culture that moved them around like chess pieces, oblivious at best, to their victims' pain and suffering. Let him galvanize the faithful by his honesty and openness and willingness to admit faults and make significant change.
Even as I write these words, my interior voice laughs at me, saying, "Yeah, right. That might happen." The red hats are already circling the wagons.
Let's see, maybe he can cancel the inquisition of American nuns and order a "visitation" to study the behavior and the lifestyle of, say, priests around the globe? Maureen Dowd, I think, had the right idea: "Yup, We need a Nope. A nun for pope."
Well said. I have been caught up in my thoughts about the scandals as well.
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