Recent Readings: Pope Benedict XVI and Spotlight
I recently came across an article by the Associated Press that detailed new revelations about retired Pope Benedict XVI and his past involvement in the Catholic Church’s widespread coverup of abuse allegations across the globe. According to the article, Pope Benedict XVI only recently acknowledged that he was present at a meeting in 1980 where members of the meeting discussed the transfer of a pedophile priest from Munich Germany to Essen, where the priest could continue working.
This announcement follows a previous statement by Pope Benedict XVI in which he had claimed that he had not been at the meeting. Now, Pope Benedict XVI claims that this previous denial was due to an “error in the editing of his statement”.
When I came across this article, I thought of my all time favorite movie: Spotlight. Spotlight is a nonfiction American drama about the Boston Globe’s uncovering in the early 2000’s of a huge coverup of sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic Church that had been going on for decades. In the movie, the methods that the Catholic leadership would use to sweep abuse allegations under the rug––transferring priests to new locations and dealing directly with victims' families––were demonstrated in the meeting in Germany where Pope Benedict XVI’s presence has recently come to light. This parallel highlights not only the vastness of this abuse within the Church, but the systemic cover up that church officials were privy to. The journalists for the Boston Globe investigated abuse in and around the Boston area, but the Globe’s shocking discoveries broadly led to a global uncovering of abuse, forcing the Catholic Church to reckon with the scandal.
While Spotlight took place in the mid 2000’s, Pope Benedict XVI’s recent statement underscores that this issue is far from being put to rest and that there are likely still victims that have yet to receive justs and priests that have yet to face the consequences of their actions.
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/pope-meeting-pedophile-priest-discussed-82436396
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