Some News Highlights

A few recent news highlights...

* Vandals have defaced a statue of Jesus at a La Marque (TX) parish. Police are seeking suspects

* Thousands of Catholics in Germany have left the Catholic Church this past year. A German bishop surmised that the exodus may be attributed to abuse scandals and noted that "every single departure is one too many". According to one report, there was a 20% increase in the number of Catholics joining (heretical) Protestant sects. [Refreshers: Necessity of being Catholic for salvation | Those Outside the Catholic Church (Reflections)]

* Pope Benedict recently gave support for the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin in his message for the upcoming World Day of the Sick. The Holy Father stated (emphasis added)...

"I still have in my heart the moment when, during the course of the pastoral visit to Turin, I was able to pause in reflection and prayer before the sacred Shroud, before that suffering countenance, that invites us to meditate on him who took upon himself man's suffering of every age and place, even our sufferings, our difficulties, our sins. How many faithful over the course of history have passed before that sepulchral winding sheet, which covered the body of a crucified man, which in everything corresponds to what the Gospels transmit about the passion and death of Jesus! Contemplating him is an invitation to reflect on what St. Peter writes: 'By his wounds we have been healed' (1 Peter 2:24)"

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Catholics defend German bishop accused of abuse

A group of about 20 Catholics have issued an open letter defending Bishop Mixa in the wake of accusations of physical abuse of children. The letter, signed by Catholics who knew the bishop when he was a parish priest in Schrobenhausen, indicates that "they never once knew Mixa to use force and could not imagine him as capable of hitting anyone." His defenders said they "always knew him as a person who consistently treated young people and children with a great deal of respect and esteem."

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Pope meets with German Archbishop, German abuse scandal update

Pope Benedict has met with Archbishop Robert Zollitsch of Germany. According to press accounts, the Holy Father "expressed dismay" over the "mounting reports of abuse" but was "very satisfied" with steps taken to address the scandal in that country. The Archbishop also asked abuse victims for forgiveness. In a related story, reports are surfacing that Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) "unwittingly approved housing" for a priest who was accused of abuse in his former diocese in the 1980's. According to one account, Cardinal Ratzinger "let the priest, known only as H, stay at a vicarage in Munich for 'therapy'" but "was not made aware of H's alleged abuse history". Although the diocese admitted it was a mistake to allow the priest to return to pastoral work, it said the decision was not made by Pope Benedict, but was rather made by a lower ranking official who took "full responsibility" for it. The official also indicated that Cardinal Ratzinger did not know of his decision. The priest in question, who was ultimately suspended by the diocese, received an 18-month suspended prison sentence.

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