Italy in denial while Africa 'fesses up

From the April 9 Irish Times: According to Cardinal Severino Poletto of Turin, “It’s time to put a stop to this whole business . .

If you thought he meant, time to put a stop to the business of priests raping, sodomizing and sexually assaulting children and young people, think again. No, he meant it's time for people to quit picking on the pope. The cardinal, like most prelates, saves his vehemence for protecting the Pope against all that nasty "gossip", as the Vatican calls the claims that the Pope didn't act to end child sexual assaults under his watch.

Less sympathetic to the problems of the hierarchy is Archbishop of Johannesburg Buti Tlhagale, who said Africa also is effected by the abuse crisis. Honesty in the hierarchy is so rare that his statement made me do a double-take.

"The image of the Catholic church is virtually in ruins because of the bad behaviour of its priests, wolves wearing sheep's skin, preying on unsuspecting victims, inflicting irreparable harm, and continuing to do so with impunity," said Tlhalgale. Now there's the guy that ought to be the next pope.