To hell with this paedophile-hiding Pope.

[Tomcat]

This story was on Czech TV last night and I had to dig for it. I found it at The Observer in the UK.

I have no clue how reliable The Observer nor The Guardian are…if they are the equivilent of the Nat’l Enquirer, then this might be wrong. But if true…What an abomination of a church leader.

"Pope Benedict XVI faced claims last night he had ‘obstructed justice’ after it emerged he issued an order ensuring the church’s investigations into child sex abuse claims be carried out in secret…

…It orders that ‘preliminary investigations’ into any claims of abuse should be sent to Ratzinger’s office, which has the option of referring them back to private tribunals in which the ‘functions of judge, promoter of justice, notary and legal representative can validly be performed for these cases only by priests’…

…‘Cases of this kind are subject to the pontifical secret,’ Ratzinger’s letter concludes. Breaching the pontifical secret at any time while the 10-year jurisdiction order is operating carries penalties, including the threat of excommunication…

Otherwise put, he told the Bishops that they could be ex-communicated if they went to the police with allegations of child-abuse.

And he ain’t alone! Archbishop Bertone co-signed it:

"The Ratzinger letter was co-signed by Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone who gave an interview two years ago in which he hinted at the church’s opposition to allowing outside agencies to investigate abuse claims.

‘In my opinion, the demand that a bishop be obligated to contact the police in order to denounce a priest who has admitted the offence of paedophilia is unfounded,’ Bertone said."

Has this story broke anywhere else?

-Tcat