Easter Horror: Pope To Resign Over Sex Abuse Of Deaf Boys? - bbc online

Pope's preacher sorry for anti-Semitism remarks

Cardinal Angelo Sodano, left, expressed support for the Pope

The Pope's preacher has apologised for comparing criticism of the Catholic Church over child abuse to "collective violence suffered by the Jews".

Fr Raniero Cantalamessa said Pope Benedict XVI had not known the remarks would be included in his Friday sermon.
At Easter Mass in St Peter's Square a senior cardinal, Angelo Sodano, said the faithful were not affected by the "petty gossip" of the moment.
He was referring to a child sex-abuse scandal that has engulfed the Church.
Allegations of abuse - many dating back decades - have emerged recently in countries including the Pope's native Germany, Ireland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Austria, and the US.
Fr Cantalamessa's comments provoked anger among Jewish groups and victims of sex abuse.
'Truly sorry'
In an interview with Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper, he said he was sorry and had no intention of offending Jewish people or victims of abuse.
"I am truly sorry to have hurt the feelings of Jewish friends," he said.

Father Cantalamessa is the only person allowed to preach to the Pope

He also said he did not think one could compare anti-Semitism to the "attacks on the Church in these days".
He said he and the Jewish friend he had quoted in his sermon had meant to point to "the use of stereotype and the easy passage from individual to collective guilt".
The Vatican said earlier that Fr Cantalamessa's remarks did not represent its official view.
During Mass in St Peter's Square Cardinal Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, paid tribute to the Pope as he wished him a happy Easter.
"Holy Father, the people of God are with you and will not let themselves be influenced by the petty gossip of the moment, by the trials that sometimes assail the community of believers," the cardinal said.
His remarks echoed earlier comments by Pope Benedict.
A week ago, with the Church already under pressure over the abuse allegations, the Pope said his faith would help give him the courage to deflect "petty gossip".
Pope Benedict has not made any explicit comment on the issue since he penned a letter apologising for child-abuse in the Irish Church late last month.
The pontiff has been accused personally of failing to take action against a suspected abuser during his tenure as archbishop of Munich - a claim the Vatican strongly denies.
Critics also say that when he was prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which deals with sex abuse cases, he did not act against a priest in the US state of Wisconsin who is thought to have abused some 200 deaf boys.
The Vatican's official newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, stepped up its defence of the Pope in its Sunday edition, publishing messages of support from around the world and denouncing the "slanderous attacks and the defamation campaign surrounding the drama of abuse by priests".

Can a pope resign from office?

The possibility has been raised that Pope Benedict XVI should resign over the snowballing paedophile priest scandal in the Catholic Church. The BBC's Vatican correspondent, David Willey, examines the question.

The Vatican has vigorously defended Pope Benedict's record in office

In theory, there is nothing to stop Pope Benedict taking a piece of paper out of his writing desk and drafting a letter of resignation to hand to the College of Cardinals, the supreme electoral body of the Catholic Church.
Under Canon Law, the only conditions for the validity of such a resignation are that it be made freely and be properly published.
But no pope has done this in modern times.
There has, however, been persistent speculation by historians that during World War II, Pope Pius XII drew up a document stating that if he were to be kidnapped by the Nazis he was to be considered to have resigned, and a successor should be chosen.
As the Vatican has delayed the full release of its archives relating to Pius's pontificate, because of a dispute over his reaction to the Nazi Holocaust, there is no means of verifying whether this is true.
Rival claimants
Going back further in time, the last case of a pope resigning dates back a further five centuries. Pope Gregory XII - who reigned from 1406 to 1415 - did so to end what was called the Western Schism.

No pope has resigned as head of the Catholic Church in modern times

There were three rival claimants to the papal throne at that time, the Roman Pope Gregory XII, the Avignon Pope Benedict XIII, and the Antipope John XXIII. Before resigning, Gregory formally convened a Church Council and authorised it to elect his successor.
The only other significant example of a papal resignation dates back even further in time.
In 1294, Pope Celestine V, only five months after his election, issued a solemn decree declaring it permissible for a pope to resign and then did so.
He lived for two further years as a hermit, and was later declared a saint. The decree that he issued ended any doubt among canon lawyers about the validity of a papal resignation.
Having said all this, the likelihood of Pope Benedict voluntarily laying down his high office remains slim.
The Vatican is for the moment vigorously defending the record of his five-year papacy, and Benedict's previous conduct during the period when he was Cardinal Archbishop of Munich and subsequently head of the CDF, the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, the watchdog Vatican department responsible for disciplining priests guilty of bad conduct.


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