Pope Sexual Abuse Scandal: Benedict Implicated In Cover-Up Of Wisconsin Abuse Case

As a cardinal, Pope Benedict XVI and other Vatican officials did not punish or even hold a trial within the Catholic church for a Wisconsin priest who may have molested as many as 200 deaf boys, according to The New York Times.

The Times reports that despite warnings from "several" bishops to then-Cardinal Ratzinger about Father Lawrence Murphy, a priest at the St. John's School For The Deaf in St. Francis, WI, the Vatican chose not to act and ultimately allowed Murphy to go unpunished before his death in 1998. The Times reports:

In 1996, Cardinal Ratzinger failed to respond to two letters about the case from Rembert G. Weakland, Milwaukee's archbishop at the time. After eight months, the second in command at the doctrinal office, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, now the Vatican's secretary of state, instructed the Wisconsin bishops to begin a secret canonical trial that could lead to Father Murphy's dismissal.


But Cardinal Bertone halted the process after Father Murphy personally wrote to Cardinal Ratzinger protesting that he should not be put on trial because he had already repented and was in poor health and that the case was beyond the church's own statute of limitations.


"I simply want to live out the time that I have left in the dignity of my priesthood," Father Murphy wrote near the end of his life to Cardinal Ratzinger. "I ask your kind assistance in this matter." The files contain no response from Cardinal Ratzinger.

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Animavore wrote:I clicked on continued and nothing happened








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Seriously though. Is anyone surprised any more?

The internal correspondence from bishops in Wisconsin directly to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future pope, shows that while church officials tussled over whether the priest should be dismissed, their highest priority was protecting the church from scandal.

Macdoc wrote:Take not ratz name in vain

proud ratz member...

CarlPierce wrote:Church turns a deaf ear to suffering erm is the pope a catholic ?

I actually have sympathy with the catholics line on 'repenting' and 'forgiveness', provided the abuser doesn't do it again. Sadly it is very probable they will if they have opportunity.

Seems the priest in question wrote to the Ratz and asked to be forgiven, I wouldn't condemn Ratz simply for being compassionate. But said priest was allowed to keeping working with children.

CarlPierce wrote:Church turns a deaf ear to suffering erm is the pope a catholic ?

I actually have sympathy with the catholics line on 'repenting' and 'forgiveness', provided the abuser doesn't do it again. Sadly it is very probable they will if they have opportunity.

Seems the priest in question wrote to the Ratz and asked to be forgiven, I wouldn't condemn Ratz simply for being compassionate. But said priest was allowed to keeping working with children.

thank's for nothin
To prayin folks