Pope to Resign? Bookies Cut Odds to 3-1 As Pedophilia Found in his Munich Diocese

In recent weeks Europe has found the pattern we’ve seen in the U.S. for years: Pedophile priests allowed to thrive and when caught, not stopped, but transferred to new parishes, not just in every US diocese, but now likely in every diocese in the world.  Last week brought new charges in Germany and Austria inlcuding the Vienna Boys Choir, which was run by the Pope’s brother.  The Murphy Report continues to cause hell to break loose in Ireland, last year were horror stories of Catholic orphanes in Canada, Australia, and Alaska.  Plus Africa, Haiti: All over the world, this strange pattern exists in the Catholic Church of tolerance for child sex crimes and indifference to the harm done to children. 

Last week the epidemic erupted in the Regensburg Diocese in Munich, where today’s Pope Benedict was once Cardinal Ratzinger, and transferred a suspected pedophile priest to a job and new housing where he later abused children (see links below).

Amid all these wretched  revelations, it’s like comic relief to find a story, Like this:  Irish bookmaker Paddy Power said Friday it had cut the odds on Pope Benedict resigning after allegations of child abuse by priests in Germany gripped the Roman Catholic Church… Ireland’s biggest bookmaker said it had cut the odds from 12 to 1 to 3 to 1 following a “cascade of bets.”  Continued here:  Irish bookmaker slashes odds on pope’s resignation

Turns out when he was Cardinal Ratzinger in Munich, the current Pope Benedict transferred and tolerated pedophile priests just like every other Cardinal and Bishop in every other Catholic diocese in the world, as is being reported all over the world:

Vatican decries effort to draw pope into clergy abuse scandal VATICAN CITY  Boston Globe – By Rachel Donadio and Nicholas Kulish New York Times / March 14, 2010 – ROME — As new details emerged on allegations of child sexual abuse by priests in the Munich archdiocese then led by the future Pope Benedict XVI, the Vatican spoke out yesterday to protect the pope against what it called an aggressive campaign against him in his native Germany.

AS USUAL A BLOGGER does it best, here is best analysis written of this I’ve seen so far:

Questions Arise About Pedophile Priest From Pope’s Old Diocese -  Dana Kennedy, The Hive Blog at Modesto Bee, March 12) –

The fallout from the growing Catholic sex abuse scandals finally reached as far as the pope Friday when it was revealed that Benedict XVI knew a priest was a pedophile in 1980 but approved a stint in therapy that allowed him to continue in the ministry, where he remains today…

Germany abuse scandal edges closer to Pope Benedict; Vatican insists no connection VATICAN CITY, New York Daily News, BY Larry Mcshane DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER, Saturday, March 13th 2010…

Catholic Church Sex Abuse Scandal ‘Has Now Reached’ The Pope  EUROPE  – Gather -Germany’s sex abuse scandal within the Catholic Church has finally reached the Pope. As Archbishop of Munich, 1977-1982, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger allegedly allowed a priest suspected of having abused a child to return to pastoral work in the 1980s. The

The Pope: The Sex Abuse Crisis Gets Closer and Closer 

VATICAN CITY – The Daily Dish [with video] First his brother, now this from the Süddeutsche Zeitung:  “With the knowledge of the current pope, in the 80s a previously incriminated (charged with child molestation) priest was moved to Munich.  Vatican officials, taking the offensive Saturday, proclaimed Pope Benedict’s innocence against charges the pontiff helped protect a pedophile…

Pope under fire  VATICAN CITY  – The Sunday Mail (Zimbabwe)  – Germany’s sex abuse scandal has now reached Pope Benedict XVI: His former archdiocese disclosed that while he was archbishop a suspected paedophile priest was transferred to a job where he later abused children …

Missbrauchsfälle auch in Norddeutschland  GERMANY  Der Spiegel – Der Skandal um Missbrauch an katholischen Einrichtungen nimmt kein Ende. Auch in einem Internat in Cloppenburg sollen drei Priester und ein Laie sich an Kindern vergangen haben. Der Papst schweigt und gerät unter Druck. Der Vatikan sieht ihn als Kampagnenopfer.  [summary] New cases of suspected child abuse by Catholic priests have beem made at a now-closed boarding school in Cloppenburg. Named were three priests, who are now dead, and a layman who worked at the school. The abuse is said to have happened in the 1950s and 1960s…

Paedophilia cases shake Catholic church worldwide  France 24 – The paedophilia scandal that has gripped the Catholic Church in Germany, and crept into the halls of the Vatican, follows a series of similar revelations around the world in recent years. A review of some of the most striking cases…