Retiring Pope didn't deal with paedophile priests

Catholic priests have been raping little boys for centuries. The Pope knew it but chose to ignore it.  He knew very well there was a culture of secrecy and self-preservation that enabled paedophile priests to fulfill their sexual needs by taking defenseless children as  sex slaves.  He also knew that if a priest got caught, his superiors would protect him.


But the power of the paedophile priest has finally come to an end.   It's now costing the Vatican millions for their transgressions and the faithful finally found out what they've been hiding for years. The game is up. No longer can they continue with their previous plan of attack - when a priest is found guilty of child sexual abuse, send him to another school where he can start all over again on other unsuspecting children and parents.


Our own Cardinal Pell said that if a priest confesses to raping a child in the confessional, he would not be handed over to police because the "Seal of Confession is inviolable."  In other words, whatever is said in the confessional is somehow sacred, no matter what crime the sinner might have committed.  Surely this outdated farce can no longer be taken seriously.


We learn today that Pope Benedict, 85, plans to retire because of his advanced age and being too unwell for international travel.  He will have no official role in choosing his successor and will retire to the papal residence at Castel Gandolfo.


Benedict, who joined the Hitler Youth as a child in Nazi Germany, served in the German Army before deserting near the end of the war. He visited the Auschwitz Nazi death camp in Poland and Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.  In a book in 2011, he pardoned the Jewish people for the death of Jesus Christ, contradicting interpretations that had been used for centuries to justify the persecution of the Jews.

Australian Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) issued a statement yesterday.

Victims welcome the resignation of a church official with immense power who has done so little to stop the reign of terror of child rapist priests.  In the eyes of many victims, Joseph Ratzinger has personally done much to add to the huge number of victims and expotentially increase the suffering of those already harmed.