Vatican should not operate like a political organization

The “shoot the messenger” strat- egy adopted by the Vatican in the midst of the almost daily news reports of pedophile priests being protected by the Roman Catholic Church’s hierarchy suggests that there is a concerted effort to cover up the truth.

It’s time for Pope Benedict XVI to stop behaving like a politician and to exert the moral authority that comes with being the leader of more than 1 billion Catholics worldwide.

But to do so with any credibility, the pope must first and foremost confess his role in the protection of clergy who preyed upon children, and then should take concrete steps to rid the church of this vermin and the people who protected them.

In recent weeks, news stories have detailed Benedict’s direct involvement in the scandal — when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and headed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

In response, Vatican officials have accused the press of conducting a witch hunt and of besmirching the reputation of the pope. They have charged the New York Times and other outlets of conducting a smear campaign against Benedict.

But last week, a letter signed by Cardinal Ratzinger was obtained by the Associated Press that reveals a determined effort to sweep the pedophilia issue under the rug.

According to the wire service, the cardinal was urged to defrock a California priest who had a record of sexually molesting children. Ratzinger refused, citing “the good of the universal church.”

The letter was written in 1985, four years after Oakland Bishop John Cummins sought the removal of the Rev. Stephen Kiesle. Indeed, Kiesle asked to leave the priesthood, but it wasn’t until 1987 that he was removed.

In the letter, Cardinal Ratzinger said the decision to defrock the priest must take into account “the good of the universal church” and the “detriment granting the dispensation can provoke within the community of Christ’s faithful.”

He and other members of the hierarchy who protected abusive priests — the common method used to deal with them was to reassign them to other parishes, where they continued to have contact with children — have done much to undermine the universal church.

That is why Pope Benedict should stop his handlers from killing the messengers and be truthful about his role in this scandal that has rocked the foundation of the church.

As a second step, he should demand the resignation of bishops and cardinals who were directly involved in covering up the sinful, criminal acts of the priests and deacons.

U.S. visit

Two years ago, during a visit to the United States, Benedict XVI directly addressed the scandal sweeping the American Catholic Church. More than 5,000 priests have been accused of abusing 12,000 children and teenagers. The church has paid out more than $2 billion to settle lawsuits.

“It is your God-given responsibility as pastors to bind up the wounds caused by every breach of trust, to foster healing, to promote reconciliation and to reach out with loving concern to those so seriously wronged,” the pope told the bishops.

Benedict now needs to take his own advice and stop behaving like a politician under fire.