Chavagnes International College  

NEWSFLASH

Dear friends,
 
I am currently preparing a newsletter covering the events of the last term at Chavagnes, but given the media attacks on our Holy Father over the last week or two, I want to make use of our mailing list to set the record straight about the accusations that have been made against him.
 
I recently received a very informative email from Jack Valero, explaining that facts and giving references. I pass the information on to you so that over this Easter season we can all do something to calm the troubled waters should these matters come up in our conversations.
 
God bless you and yours, and have a blessed Easter.
Sincerely,
Ferdi McDermott, Principal
pope
Benedict XVI under attack
 
Thanks to Jack Valero (forwarded to me by email) for the information I am going to post here, explaining how the attack on Benedict XVI re two cases of child-abusing priests is - though sad and shameful in itself - just a stick with which to beat the Pope.

Valero writes: "The idea of some in the media was then to find a story that involved Cardinal Ratzinger directly, before becoming Pope. First there was a story based in
Munich, where Cardinal Ratzinger had been archbishop and he had authorised for a priest from another German diocese to come to Munich for treatment. He was an abuser. Without Cardinal Ratzinger's knowledge, he was placed in a parish situation where he abused again. By the time this was found out Cardinal Ratzinger had been in Rome for a few years. So he was not involved.

The second story broke in the New York Times on 25 March and was about a Fr Murphy who had abused deaf children in the 70's. He had been reported to the civil authorities who investigated him but dropped the case. In the early 90s his archbishop decided he was guilty and withdrew him from public ministry. He then wrote to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) because some of the offences included solicitation in the confessional, which always had to be reported to the Holy See. A process of laicisation started but in 1998, Fr Murphy himself wrote to Cardinal Ratzinger saying he was dying, he had lived in isolation for some years, had not abused for many years - could the process be stopped? Cardinal Ratzinger agreed and thee priest was not defrocked. Fr Murphy died 4 months later. Now one can argue whether the decision was right or wrong, but one cannot say Cardinal Ratzinger was either complicit in the abuse or helped to cover it up in any way."

Details of the case can be found in two pieces in Zenit, which explain it well:

http://www.zenit.org/article-28750?l=english

http://www.zenit.org/article-28746?l=english

Valero was called by Sky News and actually appeared in their afternoon service explaining the above. You can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKWu2B-Vnbs

He says: "I wanted to say so many more things! But at least I was happy to be given the opportunity to put the record straight in some way."

Valero continues:
"Actually the truth is the opposite to what the media are trying to portray. Since 2001, when Cardinal Ratzinger was asked by Pope John Paul II to take over these types of cases, he speeded up the procedures and made everything much more transparent than had been up to then. In other words, it is thanks to Pope Benedict that the Catholic Church has such good procedures in place. This is well explained by John Allen here:

http://ncronline.org/blogs/all-things-catholic/keeping-record-straight-benedict-and-crisis

An excellent piece well worth reading is Archbishop Nichols writing in the Times:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article7076344.ece

- End of Valero's comments -

God bless our Holy Father and protect him from all attacks upon him.