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Pope Is No Tea Partier: Benedict Backs Guaranteed Health Care For All
By David Gibson - Politics DailyAs newly empowered Republicans prepare a congressional agenda topped by a promise to repeal health care reform, Pope Benedict XVI has strongly reiterated Catholic teaching that universal health care is an "inalienable right" that must be guaranteed by every nation and society. "It is necessary to work with greater commitment at all levels so that the right to health is rendered effective, favoring access to primary health care," Benedict said in a message on Thursday to the 25th annual conference of the Vatican office that promotes health care ministry. "Health justice should be among the ...
In UK Visit, Pope Admits Failures Over Sex Abuse
By Lauren Frayer - AOL News(Sept. 16) -- Before he landed today in Britain for a historic first-ever state visit, Pope Benedict XVI delivered his harshest comments yet about the Catholic Church's response to sex abuse, admitting that the hierarchy failed to act decisively against priests who rape or molest children. The pope acknowledged that "the authority of the church was not sufficiently vigilant and not sufficiently swift and decisive" against abusers. "I must say that these revelations were a shock for me, a great sadness," he said. Benedict also said the church's "first interest is the victims" rather than its ...
Reader Feedback: Patriotism, Church, College, Swine Flu and More
By not in system - AOL News(April 22) -- Editor's note: Below is a sampling of reader feedback we received to op-eds published on AOL News over the past week. The comments have been edited for length and clarity. A Modest Proposal for Anti-Government Crowd -- By Alan Colmes Alan seems to be under the false impression that tea party members in general are, as he refers to them, "anti-government" and should secede from participating in anything that requires federal funding. I can assure Mr. Colmes that tea party members are NOT anti-government. We believe an effective government should be limited in power, and reminded ...
Catholic Church Sex-Abuse Reports Reveal Mixed Messages
By Sister Mary Ann Walsh - Politics DailyThe discovery of a letter from Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos that praised French Bishop Pierre Pican for refusing to report a priest/abuser to civil authorities shows the disconnect on handling sexual abuse of minors between the bishops in the United States and at least one Vatican congregation in Rome. It even shows a disconnect among offices in the Holy City. Cardinal Castrillon wrote his letter in 2001, when he was prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Clergy. His view stood in contrast to that of the U.S. bishops, who nine years before, in 1992, had issued their five principles for ...
Cardinal Disinvited to Latin Mass at DC Basilica
By Lisa Holewa - AOL News(April 22) -- The nation's largest Catholic church has disinvited a former Vatican official from the first traditional Latin Mass in nearly 45 years because the cardinal once praised a bishop for failing to report a pedophile priest. Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos was to deliver the elaborate mass on Saturday at the Basilica in Washington, D.C. in honor of the fifth anniversary of the pope's inauguration, but advocacy groups for victims of the church's sex abuse scandal protested the appearance. And Wednesday, the Paulus Institute, the conservative Catholic group hosting the event, revoked the ...
Debate: 4 Things the Pope Needs to Do
By not in system - AOL News(April 20) -- My entry for the topic "pedophilia" in the 2007 Encyclopedia of Catholicism states: "Nothing has damaged the Catholic Church at the turn of the millennium more than the pedophile scandal. Many observers remain perplexed by the Vatican's continuing obtuseness toward the seriousness of the scandal." Unabated, the damage continues and the perplexity remains. And instead of addressing the problem, its leaders in the Vatican's inner sanctum offer lame explanations and excuses. _____________________ OPPOSING VIEWThere is no organization in the world that has admitted its mistakes, ...
Pope Benedict and the Endless Sex Abuse Scandal
By David Gibson - Politics DailyVATICAN CITY -- A weary Pope Benedict XVI, who turns 83 on Friday, returned from a post-Easter break at the papal villa outside Rome on Wednesday but got no respite from the cascade of headlines about the clergy sexual abuse crisis. Fallout from statements on Monday by the pope's second-in-command, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, linking homosexuality and pedophilia, continued to provoke an uproar throughout Europe, making the front pages of many major newspapers. ...
Americans Give Low Marks to the Pope's Handling of Abuse Scandal
By Bruce Drake - Politics DailyForty-four percent of Americans believe Pope Benedict XVI has done a poor job of addressing the Catholic Church's sex abuse scandal, a number more than double that in 2008, according to a Pew Research Center poll conducted April 1-5. Only 12 percent credit the Pope for doing a good or excellent job in the wake of continuing revelations about abuse cases that arose in areas under his authority when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. Another 27 percent rate it as fair. In the 2008 survey, 39 percent had credited the Pope with doing a good or excellent job on handling the issue. The Pope fares ...
Why the Catholic Church's Excuses Ring Hollow
By Mary C. Curtis - Politics DailyThis year, as always, Catholics flocked to Mass on Easter Sunday. It is the holiest of days, the time for Catholics and other Christians to reflect on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. But while solid in their faith in God, lifelong Catholics are shaky in their support of the men who have guided the church. I attended on Easter because I really wanted to hear what our pastor, a kind and gentle man like the majority of priests, would say. While I wanted some acknowledgment of the pain of abuse victims and the commitment of the church to remake its culture of secrecy, I wasn't surprised that ...
Why I Could No Longer Be a Catholic
By Delia Lloyd - Politics DailyAn old friend of mine recently posted the following sentence on his Facebook page: "I know this is totally not a PC thing to say, but can someone please explain to me why anyone is still Catholic?" ...
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