Abuse whistle-blower attacks Vatican ‘informers’
" The whistle-blower who triggered the “tsunami” of allegations of clerical sexual abuse in the German-speaking countries has accused the Vatican of listening to right-wing informers who regard the slightest criticism of the Church as disloyalty. Fr Klaus Mertes, headmaster of the prestigious Jesuit Canisius College in Berlin, described the informers as “a vociferous, self-righteous minority”. “When [they] denounce people, certain people in the Vatican remain silent because they are frightened that the informers will turn on them if they speak out,” he told the German weekly Der Spiegel. The Jesuit’s remarks came as final preparations were under way for Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Germany. Last year, Fr Mertes revealed that two former Canisius College teachers had systematically abused students in the 1970s and 1980s, an action for which he was criticised by a cardinal in Rome and received hate mail and death threats. More allegations followed, leading Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna to speak of an “abuse tsunami” engulfing the Church. In his Der Spiegel interview, Fr Mertes complained of informers who regarded the slightest criticism of the Church as disloyalty. “Any Catholic who asks questions is immediately reported as suspicious ... Rome accepts these denunciations and the informers are protected by anonymity,” he said. Any priest who suggested debate on the so-called “hot issues” – such as Communion for remarried divorcees or making priestly celibacy voluntary – was immediately reported to Rome and accused of promoting a schism, he said."
Christa Pongratz-Lippitt - 30 July 2011 more ....
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