Vatican distances itself from comments on Jews

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catman

Electoral Member
Sep 3, 2006
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The Vatican is officially distancing itself from parallels drawn between recent attacks on the Catholic Church over abuse scandals and anti-Semitism.

Pope Benedict XVI's personal preacher, Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa, on Friday compared the attacks to "collective violence" against Jews.

The Franciscan priest was speaking with the Pope in attendance, at St. Peter's Basilica during a Vatican Good Friday service.


Within hours of the homily, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said Cantalamessa's words did not represent the official position of the church.
"A comparison between the criticism of the Catholic Church for the scandals of pedophilia and anti-Semitism is absolutely not the line of the Vatican and of the Catholic church, and was also not the intention of Father Raniero Cantalamessa, who had the intention to bring only a witness of solidarity to the church by a Jew from his personal experience of suffering," Lombardi said.

In his Good Friday sermon, Cantalamessa compared scrutiny of the Pope to persecution suffered by Jews.

"They know from experience what it means to be the victim of collective violence," he said.

Cantalamessa also said he had recently received a letter from a Jewish friend whom he quoted as writing about his "disgust" over the "violent and concentric attack against the Church, the Pope and all the faithful around the world."
The Vatican has been on the defensive in recent days, saying the church has been singled out and collectively stereotyped for the problem of pedophilia, which it says is a society-wide issue.

Victims say Benedict — both as a former archbishop of Munich and later as a Vatican cardinal directing the Holy See's policy on handling abuse cases — was part of a culture of coverup and confidentiality devised to protect church hierarchy.
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CBC News - World - Vatican distances itself from comments on Jews
 
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Cliffy

Standing Member
Nov 19, 2008
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The reason for the criticism has more to do with the church setting itself up as a moral compass and then covering up the abuse. People of the general public don't set themselves up as being morally superior, although many of different religions are just as guilty of hiding behind their outward show of faith. I have personally known people of various christian denominations who profess one thing while doing another. Many were pillars of their churches. But the position of pope is supposed to be that of a direct link to god, so any suspicion of impropriety (as in a cover up) should be treated with utmost scrutiny. The church needs a complete house cleaning and that usually means from the top on down.
 
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