Ratzinger’s action or inaction led to a child being molested.
Sometimes before 1980 the Rev. Peter Hullermann plied a boy with alcohol and then molested him. The parents went to the diocese, who told them not to go to the police, that the case would be handled inside the Church, and that Hullermann would never work with children again (Number 3 Lie after The check is in the mail and I will love you in the morning).
In 1980 the diocese of Essen sent Hullermann to Munich for treatment. Ratzinger, as archbishop, allowed him to live in a rectory. This is Ratzinger’s last involvement with the case that the Vatican admits.
The vicar general, the Rev. Gerhard Gruber, on his own authority allowed Hullermann to work in the parish. The Hullermann molested another child, apparently very soon after he came to Munich, possibly while Ratzinger was still archbishop of Munich. In 1986 Hullermann was convicted of this molestation, but was returned to parish work in Garching, where he remained until 2008, working with the youth of the parish.
In 2008 he was transferred to a pilgrimage church in Bad Tölz, where least until a few days ago he was an active priest.
The Vatican has been attacking the media for reporting the facts, but has not denied the facts.
Why did Ratzinger turn the case over to Gruber and not follow up on it to learn what had happened? The Vatican says that Ratzinger was busy, with 1,200 priest in his archdiocese. Too busy to protect children? Alas, that has been the problem all along. And even in the United States (and Boston had 1,200 priests) bishops at least followed abuse cases and made the decisions (generally bad ones) and did not simply hand the cases over to subordinates. Why did Ratzinger, after he went to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and started handling these abuse cases, after he became pope, never trouble to find out what had happened to Hullermann?
An honorable man, a man of integrity, accepts responisility for the bad things that his lack of diligence allowed to happen. Is the Pope a man of integrity who will publicly admit his failure, or will he try to evade responsibility and blame the messengers for reporting his failure?
Unfortunately, we all know the answer to the question at the end of this article. The pope has proved by his lack of action in the past, and his lack of acknowledging any responsibility, that he is not a man of integrity. How sad – and frightening! – that this man is the universal head of an entire church.
If what you say is true, Leon, it just reinforces what I’ve been saying all along: A bureaucratic hierarchy run by self-benighted people who are shielded from any sort of accountability will produce this sort of corruption. That’s because the people involved are more focused on “not making waves” and in protecting the institution’s ostensible credibility (and themselves) than in doing the right thing.
We are seeing Ezekiel 34 coming alive right before our very eyes.
And how happy we should be Joseph, that God is revealing to those who(know) and Love Him, how to get the WORD OUT. Thanks be to the journalists who are not afrais to publish the words from the people of God.
Leon writes and we respond. Some good, some not so good. Leon, you know God is allowing all of this evil to come out to save the people who have been trapped and enslaved in this evil debotchery called the RCC.
ST. Paul warned the believers in the middle of the 1st century, to be careful of imposters that preached a gospel other than Christ’s. It would be “Anathema”. A sin, UNFORGIVABLE by God Almighty. This is it! But we are not uninformed! HE wants me to do somthing about it. LEAVE, and we have. Blogg and I have, for 9 yrs.
We need a full investigation of this. We need answers. It’s time all of us stood up and demanded better explanations of what all this cover up was about. What didn’t Bernard Law go to jail? What did Pope Benedict really do before and after he became pope in reference to Marcial Maciel? We need answers. And no one should be immune from investigation.
A couple of days ago, I read an article on “Abuse Tracker” about an uppity Vatican Pressman, “Warning” the press “Not to Drag Pope Benedict” into the German Pedophilia Scandal. I LOVED it!
There is not better way than to wave a bright Vatican-coloured Red Flag in front of the worldwide press, than to give us a direct “warning” from the Vatican.
My question is this: What is the Pope going to do to individual reporters who do not heed the Vatican’s ominous warning: Send us up before the Inquisitions, put us on a rack so we can’t get on the internet, put us in thumbscrews so we can’t type, draw and quarter us and put our heads on a pole to adorn St. Peter’s Square? Oh, I know! She could refuse us a Plenary Indulgence, so we will need to spend centuries in the Fires of Purgatory for bringing SCANDAL to the Holy, Roman Catholic Church! (Sister Dorothy Marie, you would be proud of me, because I’m remembering all of your lectures on what happens to heretics and apostates! Thank you, again! (If your soul ever gets out of Purgatory, may you learn not to tell lies to impressionable young teenagers!)
gloria sullivan JESUS founded the ONE, HOLY CATHOLIC and APOSTOLIC CHURCH, u can go back to your little SECT anytime.
Gloria, I see that you are the voice of Protestant hatred.
Julie, do you deny that a serious level of debauchery has pervaded the Catholic Church? Now, the Catholic Church certainly is not the only one so pervaded, and Protestant “haters” will take advantage of the situation to promote their own agendas. But let’s not kid ourselves. The behavior of the bishops and the abusers they have protected cannot recommend themselves to Christ.
As I said earlier, we’re seeing Ezekiel 34 come alive right before our eyes.