April 6, 2010--Bad Friday
Last Friday, Good Friday, in St. Peter’s Basilica, on the site of the tomb of one of Christ’s apostles and the founder of the Catholic Church, in effect the first Pope, before the current Pope, one of Pope Benedict XVI’s sycophants, the Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa delivered one of modern history’s most outrageous sermon.
He is just one of the many Catholic leaders from parish priests to bishops to cardinals who have been racing to the pontiff’s defense, competing with each other to see who could come up with the best excuse as to why the Pope, when he was Cardinal Ratzinger, either ignored and/or covered up hundreds and hundreds of instances of sexual abuse perpetrated on children by priests directly under his supervision.
Cardinal Ratzinger was nicknamed Cardinal Rottweiler because of his tenacity in enforcing Church doctrine and priestly behavior. But during his years as cardinal the best that can be said about him is that he clearly paid more attention to scholarly matters than the disciplining of predator priests.
More appropriately, regarding this, he should have been nicknamed Cardinal Pussycat.
The initial excuse making was to blame the media. Then when that didn’t work, the Church’s chief exorcist (yes, they do have one) claimed that the entire affair was the work of the devil attempting to bring down this, to quote him, “marvelous pope and worthy successor to John Paul II.”
That also didn’t get the job done so Rev. Cantalamessa hauled out the one “explanation” that always represents the last straw—when all else fails, blame the Nazis.
He had the audacity to compare what is “being done” to the poor Pope to what was done to the Jews during the height of Nazi anti-Semitism. A subject the Pope should know well since he was at the time a member of the Hitler Youth.
Again with the Pope right by his side, on the day that commemorates Jesus’ crucifixion, the reverend took note of the fact that Easter and Passover fell during the same week this year and that this led him to think of the Jews.
“They [the Jews] know from experience what it means to be victims of collective violence, and also because of this they are quick to recognize the recurring symptoms.” In his official role as preacher to the papal household, Father Cantalamessa, according to the New York Times, then quoted from what he said was a letter he received from a Jewish friend.
“I am following the violent and concentric attacks against the church,” the letter allegedly said, “and the Pope and all the faithful by the whole world. The use of stereotypes, the passing from personal responsibility and guilt to a collective guilt, remind me of the more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism.” (Article linked below.)
Let me unpack this kettle of offensive lies and analogies.
According to the father, just as the supposed unfair criticism of a single Jew is generalized by anti-Semites into a calumnious stereotype that defames all Jews, the equivalent slander of this exemplary Pope, he claimed, is also being generalized to tarnish all Catholics and the very Church itself.
Actually, it is obvious to any impartial observer that the Pope when cardinal failed to act to protect the lives and souls of the Church’s most vulnerable charges—including many scores of deaf and dumb children. This is well and fully documented.
For this neither Catholicism nor the Church was at fault. At the highest level, only Cardinal Ratzinger. And in the current criticism of him, in all attempts to hold him accountable or minimally to have him speak out about this, no sane person is stereotyping the Church or the Faith.
There is no equivalency whatsoever between the horrors of anti-Semitism that have stretched over the millennia and the dastardly acts of this one very flawed man who Father Cantalamessa, among others, is trying to portray as the victim.
One of the Church’s deepest sacraments is confession. This Pope, who nodded in agreement throughout the father’s sermon, needs to get on his knees in private to seek his God’s forgiveness.
And, in public, ours.
He is just one of the many Catholic leaders from parish priests to bishops to cardinals who have been racing to the pontiff’s defense, competing with each other to see who could come up with the best excuse as to why the Pope, when he was Cardinal Ratzinger, either ignored and/or covered up hundreds and hundreds of instances of sexual abuse perpetrated on children by priests directly under his supervision.
Cardinal Ratzinger was nicknamed Cardinal Rottweiler because of his tenacity in enforcing Church doctrine and priestly behavior. But during his years as cardinal the best that can be said about him is that he clearly paid more attention to scholarly matters than the disciplining of predator priests.
More appropriately, regarding this, he should have been nicknamed Cardinal Pussycat.
The initial excuse making was to blame the media. Then when that didn’t work, the Church’s chief exorcist (yes, they do have one) claimed that the entire affair was the work of the devil attempting to bring down this, to quote him, “marvelous pope and worthy successor to John Paul II.”
That also didn’t get the job done so Rev. Cantalamessa hauled out the one “explanation” that always represents the last straw—when all else fails, blame the Nazis.
He had the audacity to compare what is “being done” to the poor Pope to what was done to the Jews during the height of Nazi anti-Semitism. A subject the Pope should know well since he was at the time a member of the Hitler Youth.
Again with the Pope right by his side, on the day that commemorates Jesus’ crucifixion, the reverend took note of the fact that Easter and Passover fell during the same week this year and that this led him to think of the Jews.
“They [the Jews] know from experience what it means to be victims of collective violence, and also because of this they are quick to recognize the recurring symptoms.” In his official role as preacher to the papal household, Father Cantalamessa, according to the New York Times, then quoted from what he said was a letter he received from a Jewish friend.
“I am following the violent and concentric attacks against the church,” the letter allegedly said, “and the Pope and all the faithful by the whole world. The use of stereotypes, the passing from personal responsibility and guilt to a collective guilt, remind me of the more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism.” (Article linked below.)
Let me unpack this kettle of offensive lies and analogies.
According to the father, just as the supposed unfair criticism of a single Jew is generalized by anti-Semites into a calumnious stereotype that defames all Jews, the equivalent slander of this exemplary Pope, he claimed, is also being generalized to tarnish all Catholics and the very Church itself.
Actually, it is obvious to any impartial observer that the Pope when cardinal failed to act to protect the lives and souls of the Church’s most vulnerable charges—including many scores of deaf and dumb children. This is well and fully documented.
For this neither Catholicism nor the Church was at fault. At the highest level, only Cardinal Ratzinger. And in the current criticism of him, in all attempts to hold him accountable or minimally to have him speak out about this, no sane person is stereotyping the Church or the Faith.
There is no equivalency whatsoever between the horrors of anti-Semitism that have stretched over the millennia and the dastardly acts of this one very flawed man who Father Cantalamessa, among others, is trying to portray as the victim.
One of the Church’s deepest sacraments is confession. This Pope, who nodded in agreement throughout the father’s sermon, needs to get on his knees in private to seek his God’s forgiveness.
And, in public, ours.
posted by Steven Zwerling at
5:25 AM
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