Ah, Mexico. So close to the gringos and so far from Jesus. Sure, you’ve had more than your share of priests molesting kids over the centuries and all, not to mention the embarrassment of a rather prominent Mexican priest and cult leader being a kiddie diddler. But fear not! Pope Frankie’s latest nomination to the College of Cardinals has the perfect answer to all that god-awful humiliation. And here he is, in his own words, to ‘splain it:
The new Mexican cardinal, Alberto Suárez Inda, thinks that cases of pedophile priests are not to be published, due to the delicacy of the topic.
“They’re such delicate matters, pardon, that they are not to be published, I think,” Suárez said in a press conference on Saturday in Morelia, Michoacán.
Following the call made by Pope Francis a few days ago for bishops and Catholic religious authorities throughout the world not to cover up cases of pedophilia, the cardinal stated that he had no reason to denounce anyone.
“If you have any information, I beg you to come forward and denounce it, to give news of something you know, but I have no reason to (publicly) denounce anyone.”
This is not to say, he explained, that the church must not follow up on these cases.
“Sadly, pederasty is like a virus, like an epidemic that travels around the world, not only through the Catholic church, but also outside the church. Sometimes even family members and teachers commit that crime,” Suárez declared.
Pope Francis named Suárez Inda as a cardinal on February 14.
Translation mine.
Happy Valentine’s Day, Mexico. Just what you always wanted, a cardinal to sweep everything back under the rug. In direct contravention of what the Pope himself has been urging priestly authorities to do.
PS: Meanwhile, in Ireland, the Pope has defrocked a pestilential priest. Looks like one high-ranking church official, at least, means business when it comes to dealing with this problem.