I guess an uncanonized dead pope is preferable to an undead live one. So Benedict XVI’s pal, Cardinal Schoenborn of Vienna, throws John Paul II under the bus for lack of sex abuse vigilance. Not a good week altogether for JPII, what with signs that one of his miracles didn’t happen and official admission from the Legionaries of Christ that founder and j-pauline fave Marcial Maciel Degollado was a really bad actor.

Meanwhile, Laurie Goodstein does a follow on the Murphy case, scoring a few points for her much-criticized earlier story. Michael Sean Winters makes one correction to his critique, but is otherwise unimpressed. James Martin, S.J. says that the media, warts and all, should not be blamed, slapping Brooklyn Bishop Nicolas DeMarzio upside the head (though not by name) for calling the New York Times “the enemy” and urging mass attenders to cancel their subscriptions.

Grab a pew, this one’s got legs.