# Did Benedict resign because of involvement in the priestly child molestation coverup? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 12, 2013, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-resign-because-of-involvement-in-the-priestly-child-molestation-coverup/650078 "2013-02-12T14:17:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-resign-because-of-involvement-in-the-priestly-child-molestation-coverup/650078/21 "2013-02-12T18:02:26Z")
> [@Tollhouse](#): > > cherrypicking Just sayin, is all. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-resign-because-of-involvement-in-the-priestly-child-molestation-coverup/650078/22 "2013-02-12T18:07:30Z")
I think it’s pretty clear that the _real_ reason he resigned at this time is that he’s secretly a “gun nut”, and he wanted to finally get all the gun control chatter off the front page. It seems to be working, too! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-resign-because-of-involvement-in-the-priestly-child-molestation-coverup/650078/23 "2013-02-12T18:10:05Z")
**John Mace** for Pope! > [@Tollhouse](#): > > …the anti Catholic bent in media I believe did some manipulation of the information and stirred up a witch hunt,altho they dont do the same in other religions whic indoubtedly also have molested children…so one has to take note of the way the media never reports or goes looking for cases in protestant churches synagogues mosques etc or conduct witch hunts towards them. Is there a pattern of child molestation in any particular group of protestant churches, mosques, or synagogues? Is there a pattern of official cover-ups? What sort of non-Catholic scandal do you think the media is ignoring? ---
**Author:** ![Tollhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@Tollhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tollhouse)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-resign-because-of-involvement-in-the-priestly-child-molestation-coverup/650078/24 "2013-02-12T18:10:36Z")
Thats why I said it…😉 I only liked to be spoon fed as a baby…now that im older, I like to feed myself and dont just sit in a highchair and open my mouth so anything in the media can be spoon fed to me. Discernment is a wonderful tool, you should try it. Its a bit harder though than being spoon fed but once you get the hang of it… ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-resign-because-of-involvement-in-the-priestly-child-molestation-coverup/650078/25 "2013-02-12T18:13:37Z")
> [@Tollhouse](#): > > while there were some molestation cases in the Church “Some?” Tens of thousands of people have said they were abused. Hundreds of priests have been charged and thousands of lawsuits have been filed. The RCC has paid several billion dollars already to settle those lawsuits. > [@](#): > > one has to take note of the way the media never reports or goes looking for cases in protestant churches synagogues mosques etc or conduct witch hunts towards them. It’s not a witch hunt because there are clearly a ton of guilty people here, and the church has not denied the general problem. I have no idea how prevalent abuse is in other religions and I’m sure it happens. But you’re ignoring the obvious here. Not only did this happen on a huge scale, the church hierarchy was aware of the problem and frequently acted to keep the problem quiet and let the abuse continue. This happened over and over again. You can speculate about about whether that might happen in other religions, but we know it happened in this case. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-resign-because-of-involvement-in-the-priestly-child-molestation-coverup/650078/26 "2013-02-12T18:26:10Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > **John Mace** for Pope! Sure. I was just divinely inspired: Priests can marry. Women will be ordained starting today. Abortion is A-OK. Birth Control is a _good_ thing. Gays are God’s chiilun’, too, so have at it guys and gals! Oh, but women have to start wearing hats to Church again. We need to provide some support to the hat industry. Besides, they look cool in hats, and Mass should resemble the Kentucky Derby anyway! Mint Juleps will be offered in addition to wine for Communion. ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-resign-because-of-involvement-in-the-priestly-child-molestation-coverup/650078/27 "2013-02-12T19:03:22Z")
> [@Tollhouse](#): > > Thats why I said it…😉 I only liked to be spoon fed as a baby…now that im older, I like to feed myself and dont just sit in a highchair and open my mouth so anything in the media can be spoon fed to me. Discernment is a wonderful tool, you should try it. Its a bit harder though than being spoon fed but once you get the hang of it… So share with us. Show us the information you have that the Catholic church was not engaged in a cover up. Also, show us the information you have that indicates that Ratzinger didn’t know about it, and also didn’t tell people involved that they would be excommunicated if they didn’t cover it up. What with all that discernment you’ve got going. While you’re at it, show us the information you have that it’s ok to do things, and then whine about persecution when it’s exposed. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-resign-because-of-involvement-in-the-priestly-child-molestation-coverup/650078/28 "2013-02-12T19:58:04Z")
> [@Tollhouse](#): > > Discernment is a wonderful tool, you should try it. Its a bit harder though than being spoon fed but once you get the hang of it… Discernment is good. Sticking you fingers in your ears and shouting “lalalalala…I can’t hear you!” is not. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-resign-because-of-involvement-in-the-priestly-child-molestation-coverup/650078/29 "2013-02-12T20:22:47Z")
> [@Tollhouse](#): > > Thats why I said it…😉 I only liked to be spoon fed as a baby…now that im older, I like to feed myself and dont just sit in a highchair and open my mouth so anything in the media can be spoon fed to me. Discernment is a wonderful tool, you should try it. Its a bit harder though than being spoon fed but once you get the hang of it… I’ll take that as a no, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-resign-because-of-involvement-in-the-priestly-child-molestation-coverup/650078/30 "2013-02-12T20:35:43Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > If he thinks he’s going to be implicated, it seems to me that he’d want to stay in a position where he has the most control over information flow and the Church’s response. Don’t forget about the diplomatic immunity he currently enjoys as a sovereign head of state. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-resign-because-of-involvement-in-the-priestly-child-molestation-coverup/650078/31 "2013-02-12T21:47:42Z")
Even if it turned out that Episcopalians were the most molestinin’ bunch of folks around, how would that make what the RCC or Ratz did any less wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Tollhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@Tollhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tollhouse)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-resign-because-of-involvement-in-the-priestly-child-molestation-coverup/650078/32 "2013-02-12T21:57:59Z")
Hard to type in my phone but want to respond briedly to this. Its not that it would “make it right”…nobody is saying that. But the fact media never has zeroed in or relported other molestations in other religions is just one reason that makes me take their reporting with a grain or three of salt. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-resign-because-of-involvement-in-the-priestly-child-molestation-coverup/650078/33 "2013-02-12T22:05:58Z")
> [@Tollhouse](#): > > the fact media never has zeroed in or relported other molestations in other religions is just one reason that makes me take their reporting with a grain or three of salt. Google will find you reports of abuse by other religious figures like rabbis or imams. What you won’t find - at least I don’t think - is tens of thousands of cases that go back decades and which were largely covered up by the central authority of the religion. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-resign-because-of-involvement-in-the-priestly-child-molestation-coverup/650078/34 "2013-02-12T22:19:36Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I think the OP is wrong, but if you’ve followed the news you must’ve heard that Benedict is the first Pope in almost 600 years to resign instead of dying at his post, and he’s the first in more than 700 years to resign willingly. So it’s not a surprise people are asking if he is really choosing to resign, but I think the evidence makes it plain that he is. And this sounds like something that could very well happen again because people are living so much longer than they did centuries ago. Benedict was one of the oldest men ever to be elected Pope, and he is currently the fourth-oldest Pope in history. JPII was the first “media” pope, and we saw him grow old, infirm, and finally die all in the public spotlight. It’s entirely possible that Benedict doesn’t want to be remembered the same way, thinks that possibly it’s somewhat demeaning and indignified for both the office of Pope and the larger Church, and perhaps wishes to start a precedent that incapable Popes retire instead of sticking it out until death. That, and the guy’s 85. Many (most?) people have been retired for decades by the time they get that old. In my mind, that’s what Occam’s Razor would indicate. ---
**Author:** ![Tollhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@Tollhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tollhouse)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-resign-because-of-involvement-in-the-priestly-child-molestation-coverup/650078/35 "2013-02-12T23:23:09Z")
Bump, Maybe the op doesn’t consider someone ‘0ld enough to retire’ until they reach the 100 mark? ---
**Author:** ![Tollhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@Tollhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tollhouse)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-resign-because-of-involvement-in-the-priestly-child-molestation-coverup/650078/36 "2013-02-12T23:33:39Z")
Marley, Well…at least you wont find thousands of cases in other religions \*\* written about by the media\*\*\* or…another possibility to consider is its possible that not **all** those cases really happened? Again, I’m not asserting child molestation never occurred in the Catholic Church. What I’m suggesting :eek: is the possibility that things are not always the way the media presents an issue? According to some here, I’m guessing the answer is “no, its never possible the media is ever wrong, or ever manipulates events for whatever reason” (although they would in many cases be smart enough not to come right out and admit that) And to these people I have a hunch they will never be open to even considering that the media can be questioned. And its basically an exercise in frustration and futility for me to try to suggest things aint always the way they appear by the media. ---
**Author:** ![Apollyon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apollyon/32/4238_2.png) [@Apollyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apollyon)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-resign-because-of-involvement-in-the-priestly-child-molestation-coverup/650078/37 "2013-02-12T23:47:12Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I was just divinely inspired… Well, I’d vote for you. If I was a Cardinal… and Catholic. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-resign-because-of-involvement-in-the-priestly-child-molestation-coverup/650078/38 "2013-02-12T23:50:17Z")
There are SO MANY allegations and lawsuits, though. Are you saying the media is making it all up? The testimony and the subpoenaed files are public record! It sounds more like denial than some sort of skepticism of the media to me. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-resign-because-of-involvement-in-the-priestly-child-molestation-coverup/650078/39 "2013-02-13T00:01:12Z")
I can’t agree with the OP, I don’t know if he’s not really followed Cardinal Ratzinger later Pope Benedict, but the guy was known to have been involved in covering up the priest sex abuse stuff **before** he was elected Pope. This was known publicly. There has been a lot of stuff to come out over the years ever-further linking Benedict to the scandal, and to be honest I don’t see any reason he’d be resigning over it now. Enough was known before he was elected to make it a highly questionable decision to even accept the role, and a more questionable decision for the College of Cardinals to select him. But Benedict has basically been unwavering in not caring about public pressures, he’s openly said offensive things in the past and then responded, “I’m sorry people were offended by it.” (Note that’s not the same thing as apologizing for saying it, or even admitting you think it was wrong to say.) He destroyed or severely harmed a few generation’s worth of ecumenical harmonization that had been going on between the RCC and the Orthodox Church by basically opening up a recruitment drive to recruit Orthodox Christians into the Catholic Church. He’s never really seemed to be affected much by either the priest sexual abuse scandal or his own involvement in it, not has his position of power within the Catholic Church ever appeared threatened by it. If all this stuff was just breaking this week, then maybe you’d have something. But there is nothing coming out of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles that really changes anything. It’s really just more of the same, long before anything broke there the guy was basically as complicit as he possibly could be in the cover up and the general response of the Church which was a desire to protect and defend the institution at the cost of young boy’s health and safety. So basically I’m left wondering, if he’s leaving over this, why? It just doesn’t make sense. What does make sense is he’s 85 years old, he has appointed over 55% of the current Cardinals that will be able to vote in the next election (Cardinals over a certain age may not vote in the College.) When then-Cardinal Ratzinger was elected, many said at the time he was intended a short term compromise candidate between more progressive and more traditionalists wings of the RCC. The traditionalists couldn’t countenance a more progressive Pope, to them JPII had been too progressive in many ways (and he was very traditionalists overall.) With Ratzinger you had a nice compromise, a guy who was medieval-style traditionalist with a short shelf life. The progressive Cardinals could sign on for him in the hope that in 5-10 years when he croaked, a lot of the worst of the traditionalists hardliners would be gone and they’d get a younger, progressive Pope to shape the Church in the 21st century. That probably has not worked out for them. For one, I suspect Benedict is keenly aware of that general strategy. By stepping down early, he almost certainly will have massive influence and authority to influence the election of the next Pope. The Vatican has always been one of the most political places on earth, and the idea that he’ll genuinely not influence this election is basically totally false to me. Second, a lot of the largest growth areas for Catholics are in parts of the world with conservative and traditional mores. The areas where progressive Catholics live are mostly becoming secularist. What that means is, a huge portion of the Cardinals that Benedict has appointed while Pontiff have been from the most conservative parts of the Catholic world and are thus very conservative themselves. Not to mention he’s only been appointing relatively conservative from the rest of the world as well. So most likely the progressive Cardinals, in compromising to select Ratzinger, have probably ultimately gotten at least one more traditionalist Pope out of it. I think Benedict however, was legitimately old and getting more and more infirm. It’s come out he has to wear a pacemaker and has been forbidden from air travel by his doctor. It’s entirely possible he has a degenerative neurological disease diagnosis, Alzheimer’s is not exactly a rare diagnosis for an 85 year old. I think Benedict recognized he could step down sometime like now or near to it, and still wield his influence and basically set up a conservative Pope to keep the church moving in the direction Benedict wants–essentially reigning from beyond the grave. Alternatively, he probably recognized if he degenerated into a senile old man with none of his capacities he’d become a pawn for some internal power in the Vatican, and there would be no guarantees the new crop of leadership would be amenable to taking things in the direction he wanted. ---
**Author:** ![Tollhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@Tollhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tollhouse)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2013, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-resign-because-of-involvement-in-the-priestly-child-molestation-coverup/650078/40 "2013-02-13T00:02:59Z")
I only have a minute now, will try to come back and post more,…but, you realize that once it became known how easily diocese were settling, (as opposed to attempting to fight the charges) people came out of the woodwork, claiming their son was molested too. Now those people have money. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-resign-because-of-involvement-in-the-priestly-child-molestation-coverup/650078.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-benedict-resign-because-of-involvement-in-the-priestly-child-molestation-coverup/650078.md?page=3)