Friday, March 26, 2010

Ah, Damn! It Looks Like It's True: Ratzinger Knew

Many of us Catholics have long wondered, with fear, if the accusations and lawsuits about bishops transferring boy-abusing homosexual priests from one parish to the other to cover-up wrongdoing and to "smooth things over" to avoid scandal would ever involve a pope.

Well, it appears to be the case, beyond a reasonable doubt, that it has happened.

We don't have "hard-copy," yet -- a publicly-available digital copy of the German-language document verifying that Ratzinger, himself, before he was Pope Benefict XVI, participated in a decision transferring a homosexual wolf prone to preying upon young male lambs to a new and unwary flock -- but we have the next most reliable thing: In the New York Times, what the Rules of Evidence in American jurisprudence refer to as an Admission Against Interest by a presiding lawyer for the Church that such a document in fact exists.

If the New York Times article is not contradicted in the next few hours, we have what amounts to a Stipulation: Ratzinger knew.

In December, 1979, a priest named Peter Hullermann in the Catholic Diocese of Essen, Germany was accused of molesting three boys by the boys' parents. Fr. Hullerman did not deny the charges. His psychotherapist subsequently indicated that Fr. Hullermann was an out-of-control sex abuser. The priest in charge of personnel matters in the Diocese of Essen had Father Hullermann transfered to Munich Diocese, presided over by Ratzinger when he was Archbishop there, for treatment. The letter preceding Fr. Hullermann's transfer refers to Fr. Hullermann's need to see a Munich psychiatrist because he represented a "danger" requiring that the Diocese of Essen "remove him from pastoral duties," and added that Fr. Hullermann could teach religion "at a girls' school" -- i.e., because he is too interested in boys.

At a January 15, 1980 meeting personally presided-over by Ratzinger, Ratzinger and the other members of the Diocesan Council approved the transfer of Fr. Hullermann, whom they describe in the minutes as "a priest from Essen in need of psychiatric treatment," to St. John the Baptist Church in Munich.

Then, on January 20, the Vicar General of the Munich Diocese cc'd to Ratzinger, personally a memo confirming that Fr. Hullermann had been "returned to full duties."

Rev. Lorenz Wolf, Judicial Vicar in the Munich Diocese today, publicly admits that he has copies of the January 15, 1980 meeting minutes and of the January 20, 1980 memo.

It's clear to a moral certainty -- Pope Benedict XVI, himself, when he was Archbishop of Munich, personally participated in the transfer of another out-of-control homosexual priest preying on young boys to a new and unwary flock without warnings.

Suddenly, even the Pope is what lawyers call a "knew-or-should-have-known" case.

2 comments:

  1. I also have this to say: I wanted that little Vietnamese girl I sometimes mention in this blog whom I love like a daughter to convert to the Faith. SHE wanted to convert to the Faith, just because she wanted to be like me -- a Catholic.

    With things like this in the news, how can I POSSIBLY make a case for Catholicism to her parents?

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  2. You guys in the upper echelons of Church administration are really something! Do you realize that, with respectable justice, op-ed page cartoons could portray Church officials as pimps for homosexuals in search of prime beef? The only reason why they don't is that Western media are so overwhelmingly liberal, they don't want to imply anything negative about their "poster children," gays!

    Nonetheless, the scandal is simply mortally-wounding, in its effect, and the lawsuits are unspeakably expensive. Why not just put the entire Church up for auction, while you're at it?

    Recommendation: Sell several billion in Vatican art, and establish a church trust fund for victims.

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