In letter on clerical sex abuse, ex-pope Benedict decries ’60s sexual revolution, says seminaries filled with 'homosexual cliques'
By Chico Harlan and Chico Harlan Rome bureau chief covering southern Europe and sometimes parts beyond Email Bio Follow Stefano Pitrelli Stefano Pitrelli Email Bio Follow April 11 at 6:22 AM ROME — Breaking years of silence on major church affairs, Pope Benedict XVI has written a lengthy letter devoted to clerical sex abuse in which he attributes the crisis to a breakdown of church and societal moral teaching and says he felt compelled to assist “in this difficult hour.
Benedict’s personal secretary, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, confirmed the authenticity of the letter in an email.Since abdicating the papacy six years ago, Benedict — living in a monastery inside the Vatican City walls — had remained nearly silent on issues facing the Roman Catholic Church, in part to yield full authority to his successor, Pope Francis.
In the newly published letter, Benedict wrote that he contacted both Francis and the Vatican’s secretary of state before proceeding. And the pope emeritus finished his essay by thanking Francis for his work to show “the light of God.” But Benedict’s remarks on the topic differ sharply from those of Francis, who has emphasized the corrupted power of clergy and has acknowledged systemic problems that result in coverup.
On Twitter, David Gibson, the director of Fordham University’s Center on Religion and Culture, said it was a “major problem” that Benedict was “blaming the abuse crisis on liberal mores and gays and secularization.”“As a friend notes,” Gibson said, “[Benedict’s] narrative runs against everything said and done at the February summit. So it is deeply problematic and damaging at a crucial time.”
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