"Unconditional obedience is owed to God alone" Galatians 2:11 - Church in worst credibility crisis since Reformation, theologian tells bishops – by HANS KÜNG – The Irish Times

Pope Benedict has made worse just about everything that is wrong with the Roman Catholic Church and is directly responsible for engineering the global cover-up of child rape perpetrated by priests, according to this open letter to all Catholic bishops

VENERABLE BISHOPS,

Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, and I were the youngest theologians at the Second Vatican Council from 1962 to 1965. Now we are the oldest and the only ones still fully active. I have always understood my theological work as a service to the Roman Catholic Church. For this reason, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the election of Pope Benedict XVI, I am making this appeal to you in an open letter. In doing so, I am motivated by my profound concern for our church, which now finds itself in the worst credibility crisis since the Reformation. Please excuse the form of an open letter; unfortunately, I have no other way of reaching you.

I deeply appreciated that the pope invited me, his outspoken critic, to meet for a friendly, four-hour-long conversation shortly after he took office. This awakened in me the hope that my former colleague at Tubingen University might find his way to promote an ongoing renewal of the church and an ecumenical rapprochement in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council.

Unfortunately, my hopes and those of so many engaged Catholic men and women have not been fulfilled. And in my subsequent correspondence with the pope, I have pointed this out to him many times. Without a doubt, he conscientiously performs his everyday duties as pope, and he has given us three helpful encyclicals on faith, hope and charity. But when it comes to facing the major challenges of our times, his pontificate has increasingly passed up more opportunities than it has taken:..

4. Unconditional obedience is owed to God alone: Although at your episcopal consecration you had to take an oath of unconditional obedience to the pope, you know that unconditional obedience can never be paid to any human authority; it is due to God alone.
For this reason, you should not feel impeded by your oath to speak the truth about the current crisis facing the church, your diocese and your country. Your model should be the apostle Paul, who dared to oppose Peter “to his face since he was manifestly in the wrong”! ( Galatians 2:11 ). Pressuring the Roman authorities in the spirit of Christian fraternity can be permissible and even necessary when they fail to live up to the spirit of the Gospel and its mission. The use of the vernacular in the liturgy, the changes in the regulations governing mixed marriages, the affirmation of tolerance, democracy and human rights, the opening up of an ecumenical approach, and the many other reforms of Vatican II were only achieved because of tenacious pressure from below. Read complete article - by HANS KÜNG – The Irish Times

Photo - Papal Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls

Related links:

A 'Failed Papacy'? How Benedict XVI Got Into This Mess – by David Gibson – Politics Daily – read more

Church in worst credibility crisis since Reformation, theologian tells bishops – by HANS KÜNG – The Irish Times – read more

AP Exclusive: How the pope got his US lawyer - By NICOLE WINFIELD - Journal Times – read more

Tony Blair tells the Pope: you're wrong on homosexuality – April 8, 2009 – Times Online – read more

It's not the sex. It's the cover-up – by Matt Gurney, NP Editor, April 15, 2010 – National Post – read more

France Condemns Vatican for Blaming Abuse on Gay Priests – Voice of America – read more

"Unconditional obedience is owed to God alone" Galatians 2:11 - Church in worst credibility crisis since Reformation, theologian tells bishops – by HANS KÜNG – The Irish Times – read more

Five myths about the Catholic sexual abuse scandal – by David Gibson – The Washington Post – read more

Pope Breaks Silence Over Recent Church Scandals - - New York Magazine – read more

Ratzinger, Hurley, Maida & Accomplices – The child sexual abuse cover-ups are only the tip of the iceberg. “Kids Are Being Hurt!!!” – read more

The pope should stand trial- by Richard Dawkins, April 13, 2010 - guardian.co.uk – read more

Abuse coverup reports hardly unfair to pope – by BILL GOUVEIA - Attleboro Sun Chronicle – read more

Disappointment as Pope speaks in generalities - By David Willey – BBS News – read more

The Third Strike – by Andrew Sullivan – April 10, 2010 – The Daily Dish – The Atlantic – read more

“The blind leading the blind” With all due respect, Benedict XVI and some of the hierarchy? YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO HURT ANYONE! Kids Are Being Hurt!!! – read more 

Pope Benedict calls for Catholic church penance, but questions about reform persist - By Robert Marquand, - The Christian Science Monitor – CSMontior.com – read more 

“…a conformity, in which it's obligatory to think like everyone else, to act like everyone," Benedict XVI said. - New York Magazine – read more

Shifting Blame - Vatican Attempts - to Hide Behind Gay Priests - Sexual Orientation - Again! -> Kids Are Being Hurt!!!

International 

"Ricky Martin Foundation" advocates for the well being of children around the globe in critical areas such as social justice, education and health. Read more

Flagrant Disregard For All Of Humanity, Especially For Children – Being Publicly Demonstrated by Benedict XVI and hierarchy - Failure to Accept Responsibility for Decades of Child Sexual Abuse Cover-ups - Kids Are Being Hurt!!! - by Fr. Marty Kurylowicz Read more 

Vatican -> WATERGATE (AGAIN)? - No “Checks and Balances” Kids Are Being Hurt!!! – by Fr. Marty Kurylowicz – read more 

Vatican distances itself from prelate's gay remarks - By Brendan Trembath – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) – read more

Vatican: Bishops Must Report Alleged Abuse To Police - by BARBARA BRADLEY HAGERTY - National Public Radio NPR – read more

Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Refutes Vatican Official's Statement on Pedophilia and Sexual Orientation – read more 

'Halo has been tilted' - South African Catholic clergymen among those condemning Cardinal Bertone - By BIENNE HUISMAN – Times LIVE – read more

It's Not About Homosexuality: Blaming the Wrong People for the Sexual Abuse Crisis – by Rev. James Martin, S.J. – The Huffington Post - read more

Victims slam 'blame-shifting' Vatican – AFP - The Sydney Morning Herald – smh.com.au – read more

Gay priests are not paedophiles – by Austen Ivereigh – guardian.co.uk – read more 

Fr Marcus Stock, General Secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales – In deep appreciation, for being a voice of sanity and clarity – extremely beneficial to children, MSK – read more

“Someday, maybe, there will exist a well-informed, well considered and yet fervent public conviction that the most deadly of all possible sins is the mutilation of a child’s spirit.” Erik Erikson

…whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Matthew 18:6

Protect children and the entire world will be safe.

Important note: No disrespect meant to Pope Benedict XVI or the hierarchy, the one and only concern is the safety and well-being of children. Kids Are Being Hurt!!!