The Associated Press Youtube Channel filed this clip revealing a letter bearing the signature of the future pope showing then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger resisted defrocking a California priest with a record of sexually molesting children after his case had languished four years at the Vatican.
A MSNBC News Article written by Associated Press GILLIAN FLACCUS has a similar report stating: “the future Pope Benedict XVI resisted pleas to defrock a California priest with a record of sexually molesting children, citing concerns including “the good of the universal church,” according to a 1985 letter bearing his signature.
The correspondence, obtained by The Associated Press, is the strongest challenge yet to the Vatican’s insistence that Benedict played no role in blocking the removal of pedophile priests during his years as head of the Catholic Church’s doctrinal watchdog office.
The letter, signed by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was typed in Latin and is part of years of correspondence between the Diocese of Oakland and the Vatican about the proposed defrocking of the Rev. Stephen Kiesle.” Read full story here
As this sex abuse scandal develops, I believe that it is best for Vatican to face the issue and impose definite sanctions to the offending priests. Vatican should not condone them and that they should be handed to the proper courts for trial.