Reacting to widespread questions about how it manages clergy sex abuse cases, the Vatican on Monday added a sentence to its guidelines making it clear for the first time that bishops and clerics should report sex crimes to the police. The Vatican’s No. 2, meanwhile, said homosexuality, not celibacy, is to blame for the scandal. Guess he hasn’t read John Jay’s report on clergy sex abuse in the U.S.
Children were “sadistically tormented” and sexually abused at a Catholic monastery in Pope Benedict XVI’s native Bavaria, according to a report commissioned by the Church. The Bavarian house where Benedict was born was vandalized by obscene graffiti, and Benedict’s private secretary (aka “Gorgeous George”) defended his boss, saying it is not “helpful” for the pontiff to comment on every allegation. The AP’s Rachel Zoll has the obligatory “No, the pope won’t resign, and here’s why” story. The Vatican scoffed at suggestions that Benedict could be arrested when he travels to England in September.
The Vatican finally got around to forgiving the Beatles for doing drugs and calling themselves “more famous than Jesus,” but Ringo Starr said the Vatican has “got more to talk about than the Beatles.” A Hard Day’s Night indeed. Incidentally, you won’t hear that song, or any other, on Somali radio.
A Vatican investigation of the ultra-conservative Legionaries of Christ may end with the appointment of a special commissioner to lead to order, which, by the way, put its Connecticut headquarters up for sale. National Catholic Reporter has Part II of its fascinating look at the rise of Legionary founder Marcial Maciel here.
President Obama released a statement marking Holocaust Remembrance Day, saying “we must never tolerate the hateful stereotypes and prejudice against Jewish people that tragically continues to this day.” A number of evangelicals are backing Obama’s push to reduce nuclear weapons, as the president convenes the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington.
The Salt Lake Tribune has a story on the gay Episcopal priest who’s in the running for bishop. Nebraska passed an anti-abortion law and is poised to pass another. Gay rights activists in California failed to gather the nearly 700,000 signatures needed to repeal the gay marriage ban.
A Brazilian rancher was found guilty and sentenced to 30 years in prison for the slaying of an American nun. A Muslim woman is breaking the stained-glass ceiling by running a mosque in Amsterdam. An evangelical pastor in Florida randomly gave away $1,000 at each of three Sunday services. Thousands of Hindus are bathing in the River Ganges, an ancient ritual.
