Mr Benedict, A word!

Dear Pope Benedict XVI,

I would like to get a few things off my chest, as you are in charge of the Catholic Church until you die I have a couple of pointers for you. Maybe if you take my advice you may stop offending you followers. I want to talk to you about the outrageous cover-ups your priests and bishops have been up to regarding child abuse but I firstly want to speak about your visit to Africa last year.

Africa is fast becoming home to the biggest number of people who follow the Catholic faith, so it is no wonder that you visit a couple of the countries there. When you go and preach to a country you should be much more responsible in your choice of words. Africa, as you know, is troubled by the spread of HIV and something needs to be done about it. You have a duty of care to these people that look up to you to be their Gods representative on earth. Your words are taken without question and you have such a power over these people. It was Peter Parker's father that told him ‘with great power comes great responsibility’. I think you should take this advice.

Telling the people of Africa that HIV is ‘"a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems."
Aggravates the problem ay? Condoms, when they work block the virus spreading. It is a fact, the virus cannot penetrate the latex and while they may sometimes go wrong, the World Heath Organization say that ‘correct usage reduces the risk of infection by 90%’ It may be a sin to use contraception in your view but I have to ask what is more important, a cherry picked quote from the bible or the lives of millions of people. It seems you, Mr. Benedict, have chosen to promote Catholic Doctrine over looking after the heath of your relatively new followers. So I have to ask why? Is it because Catholicism is on the fall in most of the developed world and you want to keep your faith, and with it your power, alive. Or is it because you want donations from your massive congregation to keep you living in the Vatican? While we are on the subject of where you live, what right do you have to live in such a palace when your followers are starving? I am sure Jesus himself would be outraged at the disparity. Jesus was a man of the people, he lived among his disciples, when they were hungry, he was hungry. You would not catch him living it up while his followers suffered in poverty.

You desperately need to change what you said in Cameroon in March 2009 because it just may make things better. This is a continent where the fear of Aids is so rife that some Africans believe that having sex with a virgin exorcises the HIV virus from your body. This still leads to young girls being raped by HIV positive men. Guess what happens then. So come on man, step up and wield your power in a responsible way. Save lives, do not destroy them.

Which brings me to another point I would like to make. In 2001 when you were a cardinal, you sent out a memo to all priests to put the interests of the church before the safety of children.

‘The document recommended that rather than reporting sexual abuse to the relevant legal authorities, bishops should encourage the victim, witnesses and perpetrator not to talk about it. And, to keep victims quiet, it threatened that if they repeat the allegations they would be excommunicated.’
Times Online Article

This is ridiculous, and so so cruel. These children have been brought up and indoctrinated to believe that priests are men of God. That priests are free of sin. So when something this awful happens the child will believe it is they that are the sinners. On top of this is the physical and mental scaring of any kind of sexual abuse. It should be reported, and not reported through the church hierarchy, but to child protection services and the police.

Child abuse should not be treated as a sin. I think this is where your problem lies Mr. Benedict, if you keep calling it a sin, it conveys that you can be forgiven for it, saying a couple of hail Marys and a paid suspension or transfer to another parish (without having to tell the new parish why you were transferred by the way) is not a punishment.

Mr. Benedict. Stop calling child abuse a sin. It is a Crime.