A senior Vatican priest speaking at a Good Friday service compared the uproar over sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church — which have included reports about Pope Benedict XVI’s oversight role in two cases — to the persecution of the Jews, sharply raising the volume in the Vatican’s counterattack.
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Benedict sat looking downward when the Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa, who holds the office of preacher of the papal household, delivered his remarks in the traditional prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica. Wearing the brown cassock of a Franciscan, Father Cantalamessa took note that Easter and Passover were falling during the same week this year, saying he was led to think of the Jews. “They know from experience what it means to be victims of collective violence and also because of this they are quick to recognize the recurring symptoms,” he said.
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The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi stressed that Father Cantalamessa’s sermon represented his own private thoughts and was not “an official statement” from the Vatican.
Posted without commentary.
And for anyone who wishes to read the sermon itself, and the offending words in context:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.zenit.org/article-28840?l=english
Also without comment.
Sad, sad, sad, sad... Kyrie eleison!
ReplyDeleteI don't think that circling the wagons is the best strategy here.
ReplyDeleteOpening the doors, and the archives, wide open and turning on all the lights might be a better approach.
The interests of children, even grown up ones, take precedence over the interests of any institution.
Seriously sad -- I posted on the BB's blog about the sainted Joe whose funeral was yesterday and who, as a deacon, stuck with the Roman Catholic church out of a sense of committment to his vows. This might have tipped him over the edge. And we would have welcomed him to join his wife in TEC. But it would have been sad nevertheless.
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling there is going to be large numbers whom won't be making it out of purgatory ...
ReplyDeleteRick, after reading the entire sermon many questions come to mind. I select two brief quotes about which I have questions.
ReplyDeleteI am not speaking here of violence against children, of which unfortunately also elements of the clergy are stained; of that there is sufficient talk outside of here.
And why not speak of the violence against the children? Because outsiders speak of the abuse of children, do those within the church not need to speak of the violence?
And this:
"I am following with indignation the violent and concentric attacks against the Church, the Pope and all the faithful by the whole world. The use of stereotypes, the passing from personal responsibility and guilt to a collective guilt remind me of the more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism....
So. Is Fr Cantalamessa's Jewish friend comparing the "violence" of the attacks on the Roman Catholic hierarchy today to the Holocaust? If not to which of "the more shameful aspects of anti-Semitism" does the Jewish friend and, by impliction Fr Cantalamessa, allude?
When I heard this covered on the radio this afternoon (NPR) I blurted out a very bad word..but then when the reference to the letter from a Jewish friend was given I almost ran off the road.
ReplyDeleteViolence? WTH? Where is that coming from? Has there been any violence...ah other than the kind forced on innocents, here? I am so disgusted.
amyj
A simple bit of advice comes to mind: When you're in a hole, stop digging.
ReplyDeleteThe whole "I'm just quoting what one of THEM says" is one of the Oldest Tricks of Bigotry and Rationalization that the Father-of-Lies ever invented.
ReplyDeleteOne can ALWAYS find at least "one of them" to justify ANY act of bigotry. I recall a few LGBTs quoted as supporting PropH8, for example. In the 80s, I regularly recall black South Africans trotted out in SUPPORT of the apartheid State. A pro-Benedict, pro-Vatican, anti-RC dissent (compares to the Holocaust) Jew? Color me NOT surprised, there's at least one!
[This assumes, that Fr Cantalamessa's "friend" is even Real. "Some of my best friend's are..." is another of the Evil One's faves dismissals of bigotry.]
Digby argues that this sermon and the outrage over it are ultimately a distraction, a deliberate manipulation of the tunnel vision of modern journalism to distract attention away from emerging stories like that of the late Father Murphy who raped scores of boys with impunity from both the Vatican and local police despite numerous complaints and warnings from local bishops and other church officials.
ReplyDeleteThe Nixon defense is about to be replaced with the Dubya defense.
Correction, the post was by Digby's contributor, tristero.
ReplyDeleteTasteful!
ReplyDeleteJCF, "I'm not saying this; it's my Jewish friend," is the cowardly way.
ReplyDeleteCounterlight, you could be right that the sermon is a distraction, but the distraction will not work for very long.
Your link doesn't work. I hope this link works.
The Vatican is totally clueless! All they are attempting to do is kill the messenger by railing against the media. They created this situation and now they are projecting the blame.
ReplyDeleteOf all seasons of the year to blame the Jews. Haven't they learned?
ReplyDeleteSupposedly the public critique of "biased coverage by the NY Times" is a cover for the sotto voce Vatican grumblings "it's a group of NY Jews who are stirring this up": it's the ol' "If In Doubt, Blame the..." default. Lord have mercy!
ReplyDelete@rick allen: I watched Fr Cantalamessa's GF homily on EWTN. It lost nothing in offensiveness (the off-handed way he said, para., "you've heard enough about child-abuse in the Church elsewhere" was particularly disturbing. Is there ANYWHERE it needs to be discussed MORE, than from the pulpit in St. Peter's? >:-0)
JCF, I agree. Fr Cantalamessa's comments do not improve in context.
ReplyDelete