In a recent article on ABC News, it is reported that Pope Benedict is taking a lot of heat for the way he handled sexual abuse cases while he was a Cardinal with the Vatican.
The Associated Press news agency says it has obtained a letter signed by Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict, in 1985, that indicates he hesitated to take action against a California priest accused of sexually abusing two boys in the San Francisco Bay area.
Ratzinger says he needed more time to make his decision over what to do, and asked the Oakland diocese where the pedophile priest worked to consider the good of the universal church.
Attorney Irwin Zalkin is representing some of the victims of the priest in question, and believes the church associated scandal with sin.
"Scandal was considered a sin and if evidence or information were to get out and become public about the depth and the breadth and the insidious nature of the problem of the priests and other religious committing these crimes, it would for sure provoke scandal," he said.
Father Frederico Lombardi, the personal spokesman for the Pope, said the only way the public will ever be able to trust the Catholic Church again is if it promises to end secrecy once and for all and report all instances of sexual abuse right away.
The Vatican, clearly shaken by the ordeal, is accusing the media of igniting a smear campaign against the Pope.
If you or a loved one is a victim of clergy abuse, and you are interested in speaking with an experienced and knowledgeable clergy abuse lawyer, please contact the Zalkin Law Firm today at 800-724-3235.
