This needn't be an extended justification, for what I suggest should be taken as unremarkable.
Depose the Pope.
Depose him for his testimony, then after a full interrogation by authorities, depose him from that false throne. This human shall have no right at all, forevermore, to expound on 'moral' law, or much more offensively, to claim 'authority' on its interpretation or imposition. Preaching to the poor and infected of sub-Saharan Africa that condoms are immoral and forbidden, even as they stare down a genocidal virus, while systematically protecting serial child-rapists as a matter of expediency, should qualify a level of depraved hypocrisy no public should let pass.
Nor should any man be above the law. To be complicit in the raping of children is to be guilty of it (and let's, please, not use a nicer word; rape is what it was, and what it will remain). If that complicity is substantiated, as seems likely, Pope Benedict should be prosecuted, as would be the head of any other organization guilty of these crimes.
I would confidently guess that if, in Europe, it were discovered that a leading Muslim Cleric was systematically hiding and facilitating the rape of numerous children, he would be subjected to legal inquiry, and public demands for justice. The same process applies to any illegal action undertaken, and has been enforced several times with clerics found to be complicit in terrorist activities. The crimes here are no less grave.
Why, then, is it considered wishful thinking to expect equal treatment for the Pope? When you answer that for yourself, as you easily will, the abyssal absurdity of this scandal will crystallize in your mind.
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Mary C. Gordon: Why I Stay: A Parable From A Progressive Catholic
How do some of us stay in the Church? In grief, in sadness, with a resolve not to be shut out by those who say they are speaking in the name of the Father. The Church is not an institution; it is the people.
Catholic sex abuse cases - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
BishopAccountability.org - Documenting the Catholic Sexual Abuse ...
Catholic church: Abuse claims drop - U.S. Faith- msnbc.com
During the 100 years war between England and what was to become France there was a schism and two different popes recognized by different sets of Catholics as the real pope. I'm not suggesting that Catholics should go to war against each other, but perhaps a less violent solution could be found.