The Vatican at loggerheads with critics: Holy See and the Church hierarchy in denial and out of touch?

Protesters call for Pope's resignation over alleged sex abuse cover up.


¨Palm Sunday worshippers were startled to face strong protests against the Pope and calls for his resignation as "an accomplice in sex crimes" outside London's Westminster Cathedral.

The demonstration by 50 members of secularist, women's and gay organisations accused the Pope of "covering up child sex abuse by Catholic clergy" and called him a "protector of paedophile priests".

Some congegants had sympathy with the protest, but others were angry at what they accused of being an attempt to create generalised anti-Catholic sentiment out of the current child abuse crisis - which has been growing in scale and strength in recent days.


The Vatican is now at loggerheads with many of its critics, who accuse the Holy See and the Church hierarchy of being completely out of touch and in denial about the depth of the problem.

Radical and progressive Catholics, themselves strongly critical of the Church leadership and calling for sweeping change, including a possible Vatican III Council, have been reluctant to ally with the style of the 'Protest the Pope' coalition.¨


To the National Catholic Reporter in the USA, he declared: "In his 24 years as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, from around the world, all cases of grave sexual offences by clerics had to be reported, under strictest secrecy ('secretum pontificum'), to his curial office, which was exclusively responsible for dealing with them. Ratzinger himself, in a letter on 'grave sexual crimes' addressed to all the bishops under the date of 18 May, 2001, warned the bishops, under threat of ecclesiastical punishment, to observe 'papal secrecy' in such cases. In his five years as Pope, Benedict XVI has done nothing to change this practice with all its fateful consequences."
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Pope Benedict condemns 'petty gossip' over child sexual abuse scandal

Pope Benedict waves to pilgrims in St Peter's square as the start of mass to celebrate Palm Sunday.

¨Pope Benedict today risked inflaming opinion as he appeared to round on critics of the Catholic church over the widening sexual abuse scandal, saying he would not "be intimidated by ... petty gossip".

The 82-year-old pontiff led tens of thousands of people in a Palm Sunday service in St Peter's square. He did not mention the scandal engulfing the church directly, but parts of his sermon alluded to it.

The pope said that faith in God helped lead one "towards the courage of not allowing oneself to be intimidated by the petty gossip of dominant opinion".

He also spoke of how man can sometimes "fall to the lowest, vulgar levels" and "sink into the swamp of sin and dishonesty...¨ HERE

¨PETTY¨ ?!? Gossip?...Decades Global Child Sexual Abuse Victims...Coverups---¨PETTY¨ ?!? Conspiracy !?!

With all due respect- Insensitive? Kids Are Being Hurt!!! HERE

· Thanks to Ekklesia, United Kingdom
· Thanks to Getty Photo Images
· Thanks to The National Catholic Reporter
· Thanks to The Guardian, U.K.
· Thanks to Vincenzo Pinto/AFP/Getty Images
· Thanks to Father Marty Jurylowicz
· Thanks to Thalamus Center, sidebar