Mary, if you think the pope should be ousted because of the Arizona case that was cited by Ed T. (03 Apr 10 - 01:22 PM) and you claim it's not that you want the priest/molester defrocked, then perhaps you should actually read the article. The priest was removed from ministry years before, and the issue in question that was to be handled by Rome, was laicization (popularly referred to as "being defrocked.")

Smokey, since you are defending Mary, you might want to read the article as well - it's posted right in this thread.

The issue in the Archdiocese of Munich that took place when Ratzinger was archbishop - that is still a real question. The Arizona situation is not so significant - if the priest is no longer allowed to function as a priest, what's the difference if he hasn't been laicized? If the diocese has already taken action and removed the person from functioning as a priest, what's the big deal about having a higher court in Rome add emphasis by laicization? I think it's far better if these things are handled on a local level - it would be ludicrous to have every criminal case end up in the U.S. Supreme Court, wouldn't it? But if the local level fails to do justice, then it's up to a higher court to supersede the lower levels.

The Timesonline article written by Andrew Sullivan is titled I believe you’ve killed the church, Holy Father. It is quite dramatic, and plays a little loose with the facts. How does a deaf person know that Milwaukee Archbishop Cousins "yelled at him" in 1974? Sullivan's article makes it appear that Fr. Murphy was allowed to carry on until 1996 — "two decades later, with Murphy’s victims now at the 200 mark." In actuality, Cousins removed Murphy from ministry in 1974, and the only church function Murphy was allowed to perform after 1974 was to celebrate Mass as a substitute priest. There were no victims reported after 1974. The Murphy situation was certainly horrible, with a priest molesting deaf children from 1950-74 - but it appears that Archbishop Cousins handled the situation quickly after it was first reported in 1974, and removed Murphy from his position of school director almost immediately. For the sake of full disclosure, let me admit that I knew Archbishop Cousins and I really liked him. He seemed to be a man who did things right.

-Joe-