Thursday’s roundup

The Vatican, including the highest-ranking American in the curia, is defending Pope Benedict XVI against implications that he failed to remove predatory priests from ministry. Cardinal William Levada, the church’s chief doctrine enforcer, slammed the NYT for its coverage of an abuse case in Wisconsin in which the church trial of a serial molester was […]

The Vatican, including the highest-ranking American in the curia, is defending Pope Benedict XVI against implications that he failed to remove predatory priests from ministry.

Cardinal William Levada, the church’s chief doctrine enforcer, slammed the NYT for its coverage of an abuse case in Wisconsin in which the church trial of a serial molester was halted. Levada is just one of a number of bishops issuing increasingly strident condemnations of the media in general and The Times in particular. That didn’t stop him from talking to the Old Gray Lady on Thursday, though.


The Times has responded by posting the Wisconsin documents online and publishing a story today on the document trail in which the priest in charge of the Wisconsin trial now admits that The Times did not misquote him.

WaPo says the Catholic hierarchy is mounting a PR blitz in the U.S. and Europe to “ease Catholic anger and bolster the pope’s image.” The papal spokesman says Benedict sees the sex scandal as a “test for him and the church.” Swiss bishops urged clergy sex abuse victims to file criminal complaints, Danish bishops are launching an investigation, and Austria’s senior bishop is celebrating a Mass of repentance.

The pope himself celebrated Holy Thursday Mass today but did not mention the scandal. Florida lawyers say the Vatican office headed by Benedict failed to remove a pedophile priest, even when the priest himself asked to be defrocked. The AP has documents that seem to show that Pope Paul VI was told about the problem of pedophile priests 50 years ago.

NPR reports that some priests credibly accused of abuse are being quietly returned to ministry, and has a story by a Catholic historian on papal resignations.

A Muslim man says he dropped a dime on the Hutarees. A second South Carolina parish has left the Episcopal Church. The AP moved the umpteenth story on circuit-riding rabbis. Tony Alamo lost his phone privileges in jail, and a Louisiana prison can’t block an inmate from receiving the Nation of Islam’s newspaper. Christians are using online ratings to find a church.

Russian President Medvedev told police to be “more cruel” in fighting Muslim terrorists. A Malaysian judge has commuted the caning sentence of a woman who drank beer. Belgium wants to ban burqas. Muslims and Hindus attacked each other in southern India.

Catholic bishops in England are telling voters to consider candidates’ positions on gay marriage before voting. Queen Elizabeth II handed out “Maundy money” to her subjects. Somebody has ordained Barbie. I don’t probably don’t need to tell you she’s an Episcopalian. If you thought the row over Bishop Robinson was bad, wait til Ken gets a collar.


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